UN urges repatriation of 30,000 ISIS-linked families from Hawl Camp
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Six years after the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS), tens of thousands of people with ties to the group remain detained in Northeast Syria’s Hawl and other camps, the United Nations warned on Friday.
The UN said the situation poses “a serious humanitarian and security threat” to regional stability, urging countries to accelerate repatriations, particularly as Syria undergoes political transition following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
More than 30,000 people—mostly women and children—are held in the camps, including about 8,500 foreign nationals from over 60 countries. An estimated 60 percent of detainees are under the age of 18, the UN said.
UN officials described conditions as “dire and alarming,” citing cases of sexual violence, child deprivation, and growing risk of radicalization amid reduced humanitarian access and recurring ISIS attacks.
UN Acting Under-Secretary-General Alexandre Zouev warned that without swift action, the camps could become “incubators of terrorist radicalization.”
“The fall of the Assad regime offers a window for decisive action,” said Guy Ryder, UN Under-Secretary-General for Policy, stressing that repatriation “is only the first step” toward rehabilitation, reintegration, and justice for victims.