SDF accuses Damascus of smuggling ISIS families from Al-Hol Camp
Shafaq News- Damascus
The escape of ISIS families from Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria occurred after Damascus-affiliated factions entered the facility and were directly involved, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Wednesday, rejecting claims by Syria’s Interior Ministry regarding this issue.
In a statement, the SDF described the ministry’s remarks as an attempt to evade responsibility for what occurred at the camp and “the clear failure in managing the file after the camp was taken over by forces affiliated with Ministries of Interior and Defense.”
Earlier, Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour Al-Din Al-Baba said the escapes took place after Kurdish forces that had been administering the camp withdrew.
“The events were preceded by direct attacks and military mobilization by factions affiliated with Damascus toward the camp, with clashes reaching its perimeter walls,” the statement explained, adding that coordinated movements inside the camp by ISIS families sought to incite chaos.
The SDF, however, explained that “amid suspicious international silence, our forces were compelled to withdraw to prevent the camp from turning into an open battlefield,” stressing, “those factions entered the camp and began releasing families of ISIS members in front of their own cameras.” The statement also said smuggling operations continued openly and in a documented manner for the protection of personnel affiliated with the Ministries of Defense and Interior.
Holding responsibility for these actions “with the authorities that assumed effective control and administration at that time,” the statement warned that “these facts are documented by audio and visual evidence and cannot be erased by misleading media statements.”
Press ReleaseRegarding Recent Developments in Al-Hol Camp and Misleading Statements by the Ministry of InteriorOur forces have followed the statements issued by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior in the Damascus government, which sought to evade responsibility for…
— Syrian Democratic Forces (@SDF_Syria) February 25, 2026
Earlier, an employee of an international organization operating inside the camp, who requested anonymity, told Shafaq News that most Iraqi families —estimated at around 2,000— fled as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew and tribal fighters, alongside Syrian government-affiliated forces, arrived. The foreign families section witnessed “near-mass departures” during the first two days of the SDF withdrawal, while most families fled toward Idlib and Aleppo with assistance from Syrians who came to the camp, and some entered Iraqi and Lebanese territory through smuggling routes.
