ISIS Families in Syria's Northeast Camps

Photo Source: Al-Monitor

By Naveed Qazi | Editor, Globe UpFront

Tens of thousands of Syrian and non‑Syrian families affiliated with members of the Islamic State remained trapped in northeast Syria, posing a daunting challenge for the region. They lived in camps such as al‑Hol in Hasakah and Ain Issa near Raqqa, which had grown from a few tents in muddy fields into sprawling settlements with shops, schools, clinics, mosques, and NGO offices. Yet despite this infrastructure, conditions were dire. As Human Rights Watch reported in 2025, tens of thousands of people in al‑Hol and Roj camps lived in life‑threatening conditions, with limited medical care and rising insecurity. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians led by the YPG, had guarded these camps since 2019. Al‑Hol alone housed around 60,000 people, many of whom had fled Baghouz, ISIS’s last stronghold in Deir Ezzor. According to US officials cited by The Washington Post, the SDF also detained about 12,000 suspected ISIS fighters, mostly Syrians, alongside tens of thousands of their relatives.

Some women had been members of ISIS’s morality police, while children had been indoctrinated as cubs of the caliphate. Others were simply wives or mothers caught in circumstances beyond their control. The diversity of backgrounds complicated reintegration efforts. The humanitarian crisis worsened after the UN Security Council, under Russian pressure, reduced cross‑border aid routes from four to two in 2020. The closure of the al‑Yarubiyah crossing from Iraq cut off a vital supply line. As World Vision International noted, this crossing had delivered nearly 40 per cent of medical supplies to northeast Syria, and its closure left al‑Hol without adequate health support, exacerbating malnutrition and disease.

Life in the camps was harsh. UN OCHA reported in 2024 that water shortages, fuel crises, and rising commodity prices had worsened conditions. Kurdish Red Crescent data showed that more than 500 people, mostly children, had died from malnutrition, disease, or war wounds. Winter brought freezing temperatures, while torrential rains turned the camp into mud. Fires from cooking gas canisters had killed children.

Journalists from outlets such as The Guardian and Associated Press rarely gained access, as the SDF feared negative publicity. Security was fragile. During Turkey’s October 2019 offensive into northeast Syria, the YPG redeployed a third of al‑Hol’s guards to the front lines. This left only 150 Asayish police and 200 fighters to secure the camp. As The Jerusalem Post reported, hundreds of ISIS‑linked women and children escaped during the chaos, with 785 foreigners fleeing Ain Issa after Turkish shelling. The SDF recaptured some, but many remained unaccounted for.

NGOs also withdrew during the Turkish incursion. Doctors Without Borders pulled out entirely, leaving Kurdish Red Crescent as the sole provider. Although most NGOs later returned, services remained limited. Aid workers faced attacks from camp residents, especially women linked to ISIS who viewed them as apostates. These assaults often occurred during food distribution, as noted by Al‑Monitor. Fear of a Syrian regime takeover, notorious for torture and abuse in prisons, fuelled hostility. The Ain Issa camp, home to around 13,000 displaced persons including 1,000 foreigners, was also destabilised. Turkish‑backed factions advanced towards the camp, prompting evacuations. Families fled, while fighters captured around 200 ISIS relatives. Syrians were placed in makeshift detention centres, including Ain al‑Bayda near Jarablus. Women detainees told Hawar News that they were denied medical care, exposed to cold, and sexually harassed, with guards offering to smuggle them out for money. Iraqi families displaced from Ain Issa later lived in unplanned camps near Tel Abyad under Turkish control.

Repatriation remained a major challenge. Since 2017, the SDF had negotiated with foreign governments to return their citizens. According to Armed Groups and International Law, about 1,430 foreign fighters had been repatriated to countries such as Kazakhstan and Chechnya. Yet progress was slow. Talks with Iraq to repatriate 31,000 Iraqi residents of al‑Hol stalled amid Baghdad’s political crises and public opposition, as reported by Al Jazeera. Many Iraqis feared returning home, while nearly 9,000 non‑Syrian, non‑Iraqi nationals remained in limbo. The SDF experimented with tribal guarantees from 2019, releasing families pledged by local Arab tribes to reintegrate peacefully. Around 3,000 individuals were freed this way. However, Human Rights Watch warned that bribery and threats distorted the system, allowing families with ISIS ties to secure release more easily. NGOs reported that there were no reintegration programmes for those released — no mental health support, social services, or job training. The SDF insisted on controlling the process, leaving little room for external engagement.

The camps illustrated the unresolved legacy of ISIS. The SDF was overstretched, struggling to guard detainees while facing Turkish offensives and limited international support. Aid restrictions imposed by the UN cut off vital supplies. NGOs provided some relief, but services were inadequate. Repatriation was politically sensitive. Iraq feared backlash if it accepted thousands of returnees. Western governments hesitated to bring back citizens linked to ISIS. As Human Rights Watch concluded, governments urgently needed to repatriate their nationals to prevent further destabilisation. For civilians, the consequences were devastating: overcrowding, disease, insecurity, and stigma. For the SDF, the camps were a burden that undermined their legitimacy. For Turkey, they were an opportunity to weaken Kurdish forces. And for Russia, they were leverage in the UN.

Al‑Hol and Ain Issa were more than camps; they were microcosms of Syria’s unresolved war. They showed how humanitarian crises, security breakdowns, and political paralysis intersected. As UN OCHA and Human Rights Watch documented, without urgent action, these camps remained breeding grounds for instability. The plight of women and children, many innocent and some complicit, was a reminder that the war’s human cost continued long after the fall of ISIS’s caliphate.