ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Over a dozen people were arrested inside the notorious al-Hol camp in northeast Syria (Rojava) on charges of cooperating with the Islamic State (ISIS), a day after the body of an Iraqi refugee was found in the camp, a conflict monitor reported on Tuesday.
Internal security forces (Asayish) arrested 23 people suspected of having ties with the terror group at al-Hol, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) with a ground network in Syria said.
The monitor claimed that the detainees were a part of a “terrorist cell which was preparing to carry out violent acts and explosions” through north and northeast Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested droves of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters and their families when they overran ISIS's last stronghold in Syria in March 2019. Many of these people were taken to al-Hol, which is now home to around 56,000 people – mostly women and children of different nationalities.
Located in Hasaka province, al-Hol has infamously been branded a breeding ground for terrorism, with Kurdish and Iraqi authorities describing the sprawling camp as a "ticking time bomb," saying the situation in the camp is "very dangerous."
ISIS sleeper cells are active in the squalid camp and violence has recently escalated.
Six deaths were reported at the camp in April, including five women and one man, and all were attributed to be victims of ISIS killings.
Security forces in late April raided the camp in search of weapons over the deteriorating security situation.
Repeated calls from Kurdish, Iraqi, and US officials requesting the international community to repatriate their nationals from al-Hol have gone unanswered, with countries concerned about the serious security risks that repatriations may cause.
SOHR urged the international community to seek a "lasting solution" for the situation at al-Hol, calling the camp a “mini-state hosting ISIS-affiliated members and family,” while emphasizing on its security risk to the region.
