Ilham Ahmed warns global security at risk after ISIS prison seized
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Ilham Ahmed, head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), said on Tuesday that “global security is in great danger” following attacks by Syrian government forces on detention sites holding members of the Islamic State (ISIS), including a prison in al-Shaddadi that she said fell under government control a day earlier.
Speaking during a press conference via Zoom, Ahmed stated that the U.S.-led International Coalition against ISIS is seeking to resolve the issue of control over al-Hawl Camp through dialogue. “The coalition forces are trying through dialogue to solve the problem of controlling al-Hawl Camp, and we are now in continuous dialogue,” she said.
She added that security incidents were continuing in the area surrounding the camp, which hosts tens of thousands of people, including families of suspected ISIS members. “There are attacks in the vicinity of al-Hawl Camp,” Ahmed said, noting that the prison in al-Shaddadi had been seized on Monday.
“Hasakah includes the largest [concentration] of ISIS members,” she said, adding, “the security of the world is in great danger.”
The official called for what she described as urgent international intervention “to stop the genocidal attacks against Kurds in Syria, protect the privacy of Kurdish areas, and return to the dialogue table again.”
Ahmed also said that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa “has not implemented any of the conditions for lifting sanctions on Syria,” without providing further details.
Commenting on the composition of the forces advancing in the area, she said, “The Kurdish people will not trust these forces that include ISIS elements.”
“Our people made thousands of sacrifices and now they are left alone,” Ahmed added.
International organizations and coalition officials have repeatedly described the camp as a complex humanitarian and security challenge, as it houses displaced Syrians and Iraqis alongside relatives of ISIS fighters, many of whom remain unrepentant.
She concluded by reiterating that any deterioration in security in Hasakah governorate could have repercussions beyond Syria, given the number of detained ISIS members and their families.