Daesh prisoners riot against YPG/PKK in northeast Syrian camps


Imprisoned members of the Daesh terrorist group rioted Monday in a jail controlled by U.S.-backed YPG/PKK terrorists in Syria, demanding fair trials and visits by their families.

The riots in the northeastern city of Hassakeh started with the prisoners trying to break metal doors inside the jail, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor.

It said some detainees were wounded, without giving further details.

The North Press Agency, a media platform operating in the YPG/PKK-controlled areas, said the YPG/PKK terrorists are sending reinforcements to the prison.

YPG/PKK terrorists currently operate more than two dozen detention facilities scattered across northeastern Syria. Although the capacity of the camp is 10,000 people, according to the U.N., the number is seven or eight times higher than that, consisting mainly of women and children. Among the detainees are some 2,000 foreigners whose home countries have refused to repatriate them, including about 800 Europeans. Most of the civilians were forcefully brought to the camp by the YPG/PKK in April 2017, according to reports.

Riots have broken out at least twice this year, in March and in early May.

The two-day riots in March were among the most serious uprisings by the prisoners since Daesh was defeated a year ago when the YPG/PKK seized control of the last handout of the terrorist group in eastern Syria.

The Observatory reported that U.S. military helicopters flew over the prison on Monday night.

The YPG/PKK has a mixed relationship with Daesh, with ties between the groups fluctuating from open hostility to cooperation. Reports stating that Daesh terrorists are being released from YPG/PKK prisons and camps have been circulating in the media for a while. The latest of these reports came on Nov. 17 as Turkey's Defense Ministry claimed that the terrorist group had released over 800 Daesh prisoners in Tal Abyad, Syria.

Several human rights organizations including the U.N. have repeatedly warned that conditions at the YPG/PKK-controlled camps are worsening every day and have demanded access to the centers where the families of former Daesh members are being held. The main problems of the camps are unhygienic sinks and shower cabins, torn tents, expired food and a lack of medicine for those suffering from chronic diseases.