The long-feared scenario of a mass escape from the Al-Hol camp, which housed the families of suspected members of the Islamic State group (IS) in northeastern Syria, has now materialized. After the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on January 20, under pressure from Syrian government forces who took control the following day, most of the camp’s 24,000 residents left. Among them were 6,300 women and children of foreign jihadists who lived in the high-security section known as the “Annex,” according to two humanitarian sources interviewed by Le Monde, confirming information reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

According to Arthur Quesnay, a Syria expert, “80% of Al-Hol’s residents are believed to have escaped.” He added: “This may not necessarily have been the intention of Damascus, but it does reflect a real lack of control over its forces, particularly over groups of foreign fighters who played a key role in the surge of solidarity that emerged from Idlib province [in northwestern Syria] to bring families out of Al-Hol.” “The government is under pressure from its own base – especially the thousands of foreign fighters integrated into the security apparatus – who see these evacuations as a humanitarian operation,” he added.

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