Syria declares Al-Hol camp ‘closed military zone’

Syrian authorities on Monday evening declared Al-Hol camp and its surroundings in the northeastern Hasakah province a fully “closed military zone.”

Syria Alikhbaria TV, citing the Hasakah Media Directorate, said internal security forces banned anyone from approaching or entering the area under any circumstances.

The directorate warned that violations would result in strict measures, including immediate arrest and referral to the judiciary, potentially leading to severe prison sentences.

In February, Fadi al-Qassem, a Syrian Foreign Ministry official responsible for Al-Hol camp, told Anadolu that the camp had been fully evacuated.

Iraq’s National Security Advisory also confirmed that the camp had been completely dismantled after transferring more than 5,600 families, comprising around 22,000 people, to the Iraqi territory.

Al-Hol camp, located near the Syrian-Iraqi border in Hasakah province, was originally established to shelter Iraqi refugees following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. It later fell under ISIS (Daesh) control in 2014 before being used to hold suspected members of the terror group and their families, alongside thousands of displaced Syrian and Iraqi civilians.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.