Kurdish-led authorities to remove Syrians from al-Hol camp

Kurdish-led authorities in northeast Syria have said Syrians will be moved out of the overcrowded al-Hol camp, which holds displaced people and families of suspected ISIL (ISIS) fighters. Kurdish fighters have seized much of northern and eastern Syria from ISIL with the backing of the United States. They have since held thousands of suspected fighters in prisons, while their wives and children – numbering tens of thousands, many of them foreigners – are living in camps. Al-Hol camp alone holds some 65,000 people, including about 28,000 Syrians, 30,000 Iraqis and some 10,000 other foreigners of many nationalities, according to United Nations estimates. Among them are nearly 40,000 children from more than 60 countries, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “Syrian nationals will leave the al-Hol camp and only foreigners will remain,” said Riyad Derar, the co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the region’s main military force. “In al-Hol, there are Syrian relatives of ISIS group fighters and they too will be released” with guarantees from their families, Derar told AFP news agency. The SDC’s Ilham Ahmed also said “a decision will be issued to empty the Syrians from the camp completely.” He added that “those who want to remain in the camp, this would not be the responsibility of the administration.” Syrian ISIL fighters who are currently being held by Kurdish authorities in prisons in northeast Syria will not be included in the blanket release, according to the SDC. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">