SDF rejects Syrian Interior Ministry statements on al-Hawl Camp
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rejected on Wednesday recent statements issued by Syria’s Interior Ministry regarding al-Hawl Camp in the countryside of Hasakah, describing the remarks as “misleading.”
Earlier in the day, the Syrian Interior Ministry said during a press conference that the SDF had presented inaccurate figures regarding the number of residents in al-Hawl Camp, claiming that most inhabitants were civilians with no links to the Islamic State (ISIS).
In a statement published on its official website, the SDF said, “Our forces followed the statements issued by the Interior Ministry spokesperson, through which he attempted to evade responsibility for what happened in al-Hawl Camp and the clear failure in managing its file after it came under the control of Interior and Defense Ministry forces.”
The SDF added that when military mobilizations and clashes reached the perimeter of al-Hawl Camp, coinciding with coordinated movements inside the camp by families affiliated with ISIS members, its forces withdrew to prevent the camp from turning into an open battlefield, citing what it described as deliberate escalation and international silence at the time.
According to the statement, government forces later entered the camp and began removing families of ISIS members “in front of the cameras of the same forces,” alleging that smuggling operations continued openly for more than a week under the supervision of personnel affiliated with the Ministries of Defense and Interior.
The SDF described the Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson’s remarks as “irresponsible and inseparable from political attempts to mislead public opinion and divert attention from security and administrative gaps that accompanied the period of those factions’ control over the camp,” according to the statement.
It added that throughout previous years it had been “the most committed party” to managing the complex al-Hawl Camp file in line with available humanitarian and security standards.