Kurdish-led forces in Syria have announced a withdrawal from the al-Hawl detention camp in north-east Syria, which houses tens of thousands of Islamic State-linked detainees. The move comes as the United States declared it would no longer support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has lost significant territory to Syrian government forces in recent days.
Al-Hawl camp holds an estimated 24,000 people, including 10,000 from foreign countries. The camp has long been described as a hotbed of extremism, with neighbouring states warning that a jailbreak could lead to chaos. The SDF spokesperson blamed the withdrawal on a 'failure of the international community', while the Syrian government accused the SDF of leaving the camp unguarded, allowing detainees to escape.
The withdrawal coincided with a rapid advance by Syrian government forces, which recaptured Raqqa and Deir el-Zour on Sunday. The SDF, which had controlled nearly a third of Syria with US support since 2019, lost vast swathes of territory as tribal elements defected. US envoy Tom Barrack stated that the original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force had 'largely expired' following the overthrow of former president Bashar al-Assad.
A 14-point ceasefire agreement signed on Sunday between Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF head Mazloum Abdi collapsed the next day, but the Syrian presidency later announced a four-day ceasefire to allow implementation. The agreement stipulates that Syrian government forces will not enter Kurdish-majority cities and that security forces will be drawn from local residents.
Ilham Ahmed, a senior leader of the Kurdish-led authority, accused Damascus of wanting to 'massacre the Kurds', while Syrian government sources claimed Abdi was stalling implementation. The fate of al-Hawl camp remains uncertain as Syrian government forces move in.
