ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Security forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) launched an operation in the infamous al-Hol camp on Friday arresting several people suspected of carrying out assassinations as violence continues to surge in the camp, a conflict monitor reported.
The notorious al-Hol camp in Rojava’s Hasaka province continues to experience violence, with assassinations in the camp largely attributed to Islamic State (ISIS) affiliates.
As a result of the security campaign, three suspects were arrested within the squalid camp, which has reported five deaths since the beginning of June, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The camp has 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" with ISIS sleeper cells roaming the area.
Security forces frequently launch operations to arrest ISIS affiliates at the camp.
SOHR has previously blamed the deteriorating situation in the sprawling camp on the international community's unwillingness to repatriate its nationals housed in the camp over security concerns.
Iraqi nationals make up the bulk of the camp's population.
On Monday, an Iraqi official told Rudaw that a batch of 150 Iraqi families will be repatriated from the facility in early July, and will be held in al-Jada camp in Nineveh province.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested droves of 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.
