“Al-Hawl mini-state” in April 2022 | Six murders by ISIS cells and affiliate, despite the periodical security campaigns
SOHR renew its appeal to the international community to find an immediate and lasting solution for Al-Hawl camp's crisis and urges putting a serious plan for rehabilitating the camp’s children and women
The successive incidents at Al-Hawl camp in the far south-east region of Al-Hasakah are now unrefuted evidence of the chaos recently unleashed by the Islamic State in Syria. Al-Hawl refugee camp has become more like a “mini-state” hosting ISIS-affiliated members and families. A true crisis that most countries of the world still ignore in order to avoid repatriating their unwelcome citizens who joined the notorious organisation. Chaos and lack of security are prevalent within the camp, turning it into a “ticking bomb” that cannot be ignored.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has tracked and monitored the key developments in the camp in April 2022, where murders returned to the camp in the wake of re-escalating activity by ISIS cells and affiliates after two months since the last murder was documented, despite the periodical security campaigns by security forces in charge of the camp.
SOHR documented six murders in Al-Hawl camp in April 2022, which left six people dead: a male and a female Iraqi refugee, three unidentified women and a displaced Syrian woman. Accordingly, the number of murders documented in the camp since early 2022 has risen to ten, which left ten people dead; and they are as follows:
- Four Iraqi refugees, including a woman.
- Two Syrian people: a man and a woman.
- Three unidentified women.
- A medic who was killed in the post where he work in the camp.
On April 22, ISIS affiliates opened fire on an Iraqi refugee in the first section of Al-Hawl camp, where the young man sustained various injuries and was taken to the hospital.
Another assassination attempt was documented on April 23, were unknown gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi young man in the first section of Al-Hawl camp. The young man also sustained injuries and was taken to the hospital.
Also on April 23, SOHR sources reported that the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) launched a security campaign in all sections of Al-Hawl camp in Al-Hasakah province, searching for weapons in the wake of the escalating assassinations and incidents of security disorder in the camp which hosts ISIS families and members.
On the other hand, SOHR has documented no more batches of Syrian families leaving Al-Hawl camp under the SDC initiative in April. However, in January 2022, 22 families of nearly 217 people left the camp as a part of the initiative by “Syrian Democratic Council” (SDC) to evacuate Syrians from Al-Hawl camp, where these families were transported to Deir Ezzor province.
On the other hand, the Department of Foreign Relations of the Autonomous Administration of northern and eastern Syria (AANES) handed over, on April 6, two children of ISIS members to a delegation of the British government. While several Russian children were handed over to a delegation of Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 14. Also, on April 16, a Russian delegation visited the camp in preparations for evacuating more Iraqi families from Al-Hawl camp and repatriating them to Iraq.
We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), renew our appeal to the international community to find a lasting solution to “Al-Hawl mini-state” crisis, which is considered a clear and present danger to everyone. We also urge international human rights organisations to put an immediate and serious plan for rehabilitating women and children in the camp, who were saturated with ISIS ideology, especially with the large number of children and the widespread presence of the group cells in the camp that continue to impart their poisonous ideas to the residents of the camp, particularly women and children.
