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Syrian authorities forces connected Wednesday (January 21, 2026) took afloat power of a sprawling campy successful northeast Syria lodging thousands of radical linked to the Islamic State radical arsenic a truce betwixt the authorities and Kurdish fighters appears to beryllium holding.
A convoy of armoured vehicles carrying authorities troops moved into the al-Hol campy connected Wednesday (January 21, 2026) pursuing 2 weeks of clashes betwixt authorities forces and Kurdish-led fighters who mislaid ample parts of the onshore that they had controlled for years. The U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces look person than ever to merging into the Syrian military, successful accordance with demands by the government.
The seizure of the campy came a time aft SDF fighters withdrew from the installation that they had been moving for years.
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At its highest successful 2019, immoderate 73,000 radical were surviving astatine al-Hol camp. Since then, the fig has declined, with immoderate countries repatriating their citizens.
The campy is present location to immoderate 24,000, astir of them women and children linked to the Islamic State group. They see astir 14,500 Syrians and astir 3,000 Iraqis. Some 6,500 others, galore of them loyal IS supporters who came from astir the satellite to articulation the extremist group, are separately held successful a highly secured conception of the camp.
There person been reports that immoderate families managed to fly the campy during the chaos, but determination has been nary authoritative confirmation.
An Associated Press writer was not allowed into the campy but saw scores of soldiers guarding the main entranceway of the facility.
Late Tuesday (January 20), the Syrian authorities and the SDF announced a caller four-day truce aft a erstwhile ceasefire broke down. Northeast Syria was comparatively calm connected Wednesday.
The SDF and the authorities traded blasted implicit the flight connected Monday of IS members from a situation successful the northeastern municipality of Shaddadeh. Since then, galore of the detainees who fled were captured by authorities troops who took power of the jail, authorities media reported.
The SDF remains successful power of the immense bulk of much than a twelve prisons wherever immoderate 9,000 members of IS person been held for years. Under a woody announced Sunday, authorities forces were to instrumentality implicit the power of the prisons from the SDF, but the transportation did not spell smoothly.
The largest detention installation is the Gweiran Prison, present called Panorama, which has held astir 4,500 IS-linked detainees for years. The situation is successful the metropolis of Hassakeh, which is inactive nether afloat power of the SDF.
Syria's Defence Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hassan Abdul-Ghani said successful televised comments Tuesday nighttime that the authorities “was and inactive is successful nonstop confrontation” with IS. He added that authorities are acceptable to instrumentality implicit prisons wherever IS members are held. He added that erstwhile prisons are taken over, they volition beryllium enactment nether the authorization of the Interior Ministry.
IS was defeated successful Iraq successful 2017 and successful Syria 2 years later, but the group's sleeper cells inactive transportation retired deadly attacks successful some countries.
The SDF played a large relation successful defeating IS.
Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria, said successful a connection connected Tuesday (January 20, 2026) that the SDF's relation arsenic the superior anti-IS unit “has mostly expired, arsenic Damascus is present some consenting and positioned to instrumentality implicit information responsibilities." He added that the “recent developments amusement the U.S. actively facilitating this transition, alternatively than prolonging a abstracted SDF role.”
