Foreign women linked to the Islamic State group and held in Syria's Roj camp are hoping for amnesty after a government offensive weakened the Kurdish-led force that guards the camp. The camp, near the Iraqi border, houses over 2,000 people, mostly women and children, who have been detained for nearly a decade.
The women spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday, expressing hope that changes in Syria's political landscape might lead to their release. The camp remains under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, but a government offensive this month captured much of their territory, including the larger al-Hol camp holding nearly 24,000 IS-linked individuals.
Many of the women are wives or widows of IS fighters defeated in 2019. The most well-known resident, Shamima Begum, who left London at 15 to join IS, lost her appeal against the revocation of her UK citizenship last month. She refused to speak to journalists.
Camp director Hakmiyeh Ibrahim said the offensive has emboldened residents, who now tell guards they will soon be free. “There were changes in the behavior of children and women. They became more hostile,” she said. “It gave them hope that the Islamic State group is coming back strongly.”
One Tunisian woman, Buthaina, pointed to interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, once linked to al-Qaida but now removed from terrorist lists. “The international community gave al-Golani amnesty. I should be given amnesty too,” she said. The camp holds 742 families from nearly 50 countries, mostly from former Soviet states, while other nations have been reluctant to repatriate them.
Beatrice Eriksson of Repatriate the Children warned that international inaction has led to this crisis. Some women want to return home, while others, like German Aysha, plan to stay. “Syria is a Muslim country. Germany is all infidels,” she said. Belgian Cassandra, whose IS fighter husband was killed, wants to remain in Kurdish-controlled Syria.
