HAWL CAMP, Syria (North Press) – Internally displaced Syrians from areas west of the Euphrates, who reside in Hawl Camp, east of Hasakah, northeast Syria, are demanding to be allowed to leave the camp and go back either to their areas or to areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
These demands come due to an escalation of murders in the camp plus the poor security conditions there.
However, others refuse to leave the camp and return to their areas controlled by the Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed factions, for fear of reprisals or arrests that may happen, as they are viewed as cells of the Islamic State Organization (ISIS).
It should be known that most of Syrians from the western Euphrates arrived at the camp when the SDF, with the support of the US-led Global Coalition, expelled ISIS from its last pockets in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor in March 2019.
Hawl Camp, about 40 km east of Hasakah, houses about 56,150 people from about 15,250 families, including 2,423 families of ISIS killed members and foreign detainees from about 60 countries.
Some Syrian families, who had left the camp, deny any connection with ISIS. They say they had to flee their homes during the operations against ISIS militants by the SDF and the Coalition forces or the government forces with Russian support. Some, however, claim that they had done non-combat services for ISIS.
Bad security situation
A Syrian woman who comes from the eastern neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo, and introduced herself as Umm Youssef, explained that the reason behind her desire to leave the camp and return to her area was the poor security conditions in the camp.
“There have been many fires in the camp. The weather and living conditions are not suitable here. I cannot leave my children alone in the tent and go to the market,” she said.
Despite all the security measures done in the camp, which is under heavy security guard by the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish), ISIS sleeper cells are still committing murders, the last of which was last Sunday, when an Iraqi refugee was killed with three shots in the head and chest.
93 killings, the majority of which were Iraqi refugees, were recorded in the camp last year, which was the highest number recorded in one year since the camp was established.
On January 11, a nurse working in the Kurdish Red Crescent was killed by unknown persons believed to be affiliated with the ISIS cells in Hawl Camp.
A day later, an Ethiopian employee working in the International Red Cross was attacked by displaced persons in the sixth sector of the camp for Syrian displaced persons. Three tents were also burnt that day in one of the migrant women’s sectors.
Three people were injured when a fire started in the third sector for Iraqis on January 16.
With many countries ignoring the issue of repatriating their nationals from the families of ISIS militants, it does not seem that there are solutions loom on the horizon to put an end to such crimes.
The Syrian woman, Umm Youssef, had arrived at the camp coming from the town of Baghouz in March 2019.
Unlike most women in the camp, who cover their daughters’ hair when they reach the age of five, Umm Youssef does not do the same to her daughter who is now 9 years old.
No response from “the regime”
Umm Youssef, who was wearing a black dress that covered her entire body, stressed her desire to see her family and relatives, without referring to the possibility of being arrested by government forces, especially since her husband was an ISIS militant.
They discussed a specific mechanism for the return of displaced persons who come from the west of the Euphrates to their areas with international bodies and humanitarian and human rights organizations, including the International Red Cross, said Sheikhmous Ahmad, head of the AANES Refugees and Displaced Office.
“Discussions were also made with the UNHCR, which in turn discussed with the Syrian regime the issue of the return of these people, as the latter was scheduled to conduct a security study on these and submit the names of those who are allowed to return later,” Ahmad added.
“Unfortunately, there has been no response from the regime on this issue yet, and we will not risk their lives to take them out without guarantees of their safe arrival to their areas. We bear the responsibility to preserve their safety,” Ahmad noted.
Regarding the desire of some families to leave the camp and go back to the areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration, Ahmad pointed out that “this is not possible due to the large numbers of displaced people from west of the Euphrates, whose numbers range between 15,000 and 20,000.”
“Such large numbers of displaced persons are out of our ability to receive, so they must return to their cities and towns on the condition of guarantees.”
A displaced woman from the countryside of Idlib city, northwest Syria, demanded to be taken out of the camp as soon as possible, “because we are women alone in the camp without a breadwinner, and we rely on selling relief aid to manage our affairs,” she said.
The husbands and brothers of these women, who were ISIS militants, are kept in the prisons of the Autonomous Administration.
The displaced woman hopes to be allowed to leave the camp, saying: “We heard that all the displaced Syrians will be taken out of the camp, but until our turn come, two or three years will have passed.”