Syrian authorities announced on Monday that the al-Hol camp and its surrounding areas in the northeastern Hassakeh province have been declared a fully “closed military zone.”
The state-run channel Al-Ikhbariya cited Hassakeh’s Information Directorate, stating that, “The internal security of al-Hol camp declares the camp and its surroundings a fully closed military zone, with a complete ban on approaching or entering under any circumstances.”
In February, Fadi al-Qassem, the Syrian Foreign Ministry official responsible for al-Hol, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the camp had been fully evacuated.
On the same day, Iraq’s National Security Council said in a statement that al-Hol had been entirely dismantled following the transfer of more than 5,600 families, approximately 22,000 people, back to Iraqi territory, according to the official WA news agency.
Located near the Syrian-Iraqi border, al-Hol was originally established to house Iraqi refugees following the U.S. occupation of Baghdad in 2003, before falling under the control of Daesh in 2014 during its regional expansion.
After the terrorist group’s retreat, some of its members and their families, particularly foreigners, were relocated to the camp alongside thousands of Syrian and Iraqi families fleeing the fighting.
Since 2017, the camp has been under the control of the U.S.-backed PKK/YPG affiliate in Syria, which has used it as a political and propaganda tool toward Western countries under the guise of “counterterrorism.”
On Jan. 20, Syrian security forces regained control of the area surrounding al-Hol camp following the withdrawal of the PKK/YPG fighters.
