HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – January was a record month for northeast Syria’s infamous Hawl Camp, east of Hasakah, as it recorded its highest monthly death toll in the camp’s history.
International parties began to warn of the danger of the situation, which is likely to take a turn for the worse, while researchers stress that solutions must be implemented.
20 murders were recorded in the first month of 2021, and among the victims were Iraqi refugees, displaced Syrians, and a member of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish).
The first week of February recorded four murder cases, among them a Syrian IDP and Iraqi refugees.
The population of Hawl Camp includes 6,155 Syrian families, with a total of 22,231 people, and 8,284 Iraqi families, with a total of 30,706 people, according to the camp’s administration.
The number of foreign ISIS families (ISIS) is 2,625, for a total of 8,965 people.
Before the latest announcement, around 6,000 Syrians had left the camp in several waves, after the Arab tribes in their home regions agreed to sponsor their return.
Hawl Camp consists of nine sections; eight of them are for Iraqi refugees and Syrian IDPs, and the other is for ISIS families.
Yesterday’s fears became today’s problems
Sarah al-Kayyali, a Syria researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a phone call with North Press that “yesterday’s fears became today’s problems,” referring to the escalation of violence in the camp since the beginning of this year.
Al-Kayyali considers the lack of resources for working organizations and the Autonomous Administration, and the failure of countries to repatriate their citizens, as the reasons for the recent events in the camp.
Hawl Camp is known as the “ticking time bomb” due to the presence of ISIS fighters’ wives and children and tens of thousands of their supporters in a camp sometimes described as the most dangerous in the world.
In late January, Imran Riza, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, and Muhannad Hadi, UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, expressed their grave concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Hawl Camp.
A joint statement issued by them and seen by North Press said that there is an urgent need to find durable solutions for everyone living in the camp.
Global confusion
Dastan Jasim, a researcher at German Institute of Global and Area Studies, linked the situation in Hawl Camp to the lack of a solutions to the problem of ISIS detainees and their families.
“ISIS is benefiting from global political confusion and increasing its activity in Syria and Iraq,” Jasim stated to North Press.
Several European countries refuse to repatriate ISIS members from those countries because of the security risks, and believe they should be tried in the countries where they are accused of committing crimes.
The Iraqis represent the largest population in the camp, which houses 30,706 of them, according to camp’s administration’s statistics.
Most of the assassinations target Iraqi refugees, the last of which was on Thursday, when an Iraqi was killed by gunshots to the head fired by unknown persons.
Last week, Karim al-Nuri, undersecretary of the Iraqi Ministry of Immigration, said that Hawl Camp in Syria has become “a fertile ground for terrorist groups to grow.”
However, the Iraqi official indicated that his country did not want to repatriate its citizens, saying, “There is a refusal regarding the repatriate of Hawl displaced persons to Iraq because of their danger, but the possibility of return has not been decided.
The Iraqi government is also being criticized for its dealings with those who prove their work with ISIS, especially the death sentences against them.
The researcher Sarah al-Kayyali called on the Iraqi government to reconsider its treatment of the returnees because of the violations against human rights, and end to the death penalty and racial discrimination.
Change for the worse
Despite the expulsion of batches of Syrians from the camp, and the transfer of others who are at risk to other camps, the camp management is currently concerned that the situation will change for the worse as a result of the continued assassinations within the crowded camp.
There has been an unprecedented increase in killings within the camp, which indicate that ISIS is strong both inside and outside the camp, and that the Islamic State is sending a message through these violations to the international community, according to Sheikhmous Ahmed, head of the Office of Refugee, Displaced, and Afflicted Affairs in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The administration expressed its fear of an exacerbation of the situation amid growing ISIS activity in the Syrian Desert and near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
Ahmed described the situation in the camp as a deteriorating situation, and asked the active parties to interfere immediately.
There are fears that the situation will worsen, such as the possibility of explosions within the camp.
On January nine a source from Asayish said that a terrorist detonated a hand grenade and was killed as a result, as light weapons clashes erupted between the Asayish and unknown persons suspected of belonging to ISIS.
Necessary steps
The camp is held by AANES and its institutions, and provides services with organizations operating there, while Asayish carry out security tasks.
The Global Coalition supports the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in its war against ISIS, and on March 23, 2018, the two partners announced the liberation of Baghouz, the last pocket of ISIS east of the Euphrates River.
At a time when the need for security support is increasing to guard the camp and protect its inhabitants, the official of the Office of Refugee Affairs in the Autonomous Administration indicates that the security support does not rise to the required level.
Sara al-Kayyali stressed, “There must be support that includes the security sector as well,” referring to the work of the Global Coalition with SDF to fight ISIS.
In the absence of any signs of sustainable solutions to address the escalating security tension within the camp, Kayyali believes that several steps must be taken immediately.
These steps include restoration of states for their citizens, support of the security sector by the Global coalition, and the strengthening of educational programs and psychological support for camp residents, Kayyali added.