Three murders by Islamic State cells at the Al-Hawl camp in July 2022

The successive incidents at Al-Hawl camp in the far south-east region of Al-Hasakah are now unrefuted evidence of the chaos recently unleashed by the Islamic State in Syria.

Al-Hawl refugee camp has become more like a “mini-state” hosting ISIS-affiliated members and families.

A true crisis that most countries of the world still ignore in order to avoid repatriating their unwelcome citizens who joined the notorious organisation.

Chaos and lack of security are prevalent within the camp, turning it into a “ticking bomb” that cannot be ignored.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has tracked and monitored the key developments in the camp in July 2022, where murders continued in the camp in the wake of the escalating activity by ISIS cells and affiliates, despite the periodical security campaigns by security forces in charge of the camp.

SOHR documented three murder crimes in Al-Hawl camp in July 2022, which left three people dead:

– Syrian man and women.

– An unidentified woman.

Accordingly, the number of murders documented in the camp since early 2022 has risen to 26, which left 27 people dead; and they are as follows:

– Six Iraqi refugees, including two women.

– Nine Syrian people, including eight women.

– Eight unidentified women.

– A medic was killed in the post where he worked in the camp.

– An unidentified man.

In early July, the Department of Foreign Relations of the Autonomous Administration of northern and eastern Syria (AANES) handed over 16 women and 35 children of the French nationality of ISIS families to a French delegation, under an official document signed between the French delegation and the “Autonomous Administration.”

Similarly, on July 21, SOHR sources reported that the Department of Foreign Relations of the Autonomous Administration of northern and eastern Syria (AANES) handed over 11 Russian children of ISIS families to a Russian delegation, under an official document signed between the Russian delegation and the “Autonomous Administration.”

On the other hand, SOHR documented no evacuation of new batches of Syrian families from Al-Hawl camp under the SDC initiative in July.

However, in January 2022, 22 families of nearly 217 people left the camp as a part of the initiative by “Syrian Democratic Council” (SDC) to evacuate Syrians from Al-Hawl camp, where these families were transported to Deir Ezzor province.

We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), renew our appeal to the international community to find a lasting solution to “Al-Hawl mini-state” crisis, which is considered a clear and present danger to everyone.

We also urge international human rights organisations to put an immediate and serious plan for rehabilitating women and children in the camp, who were saturated with ISIS ideology, especially with a large number of children and the widespread presence of the group cells in the camp that continue to impart their poisonous ideas to the residents of the camp, particularly women and children.

Source: SOHR