The number of crimes has alarmingly increased in the "Al-Hol" camp in northeastern Syria as this year nears its end, raising warnings about a growing number of women infused with the ideology of the terrorist organization "ISIS." This "extremist wave" in the camp raises concerns about the emergence of a terrorist organization even more dangerous than ISIS, as many children are subjected to "brainwashing" by their mothers amid difficult humanitarian conditions.
Al-Hol camp in Hasakah province has become a criminal hotspot with a rise in murders, leading to a total of 154 casualties among refugees this year. Last Saturday, an Iraqi refugee was killed just days after the body of a Syrian displaced woman was found with gunshot wounds to the head, adding to other incidents involving an Iraqi refugee's death and another being wounded by gunfire.
In November, five Iraqi refugees were killed, and educational centers in the camp were attacked by individuals looking to seize funds, alongside a rise in incidents of kidnapping, theft, extortion, and tent burning. The camp houses 60,000 people, mostly women and children from Syria, Iraq, and 50 other countries, including 12,000 children and women belonging to ISIS families, residing in a highly guarded section.
Observers have warned that the camp could transform into a center of terrorist conflict, as it is not merely a venue for criminal activity. This is due to the presence of dangerously radicalized women, especially those from the Syrian city of Baghouz, despite some undergoing rehabilitation by the forces responsible for securing the camp, which have relocated over 500 Iraqi families to the al-Jadaa camp south of Mosul.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), responsible for managing the camp, accuse ISIS men and women of committing crimes to extract extortion fees, spread chaos, and punish those who abandon the organization's ideology.
### A New Organization Project
Syrian journalist Shiar Khalil, editor of the London-based newspaper "Levant," believes that the current situation in Al-Hol camp is a predictable outcome of the remnants of ISIS members gathering in one location, indicating that these families have lived together for years. He added that the children of these families are now capable of carrying out any criminal or terrorist acts, especially since many are receiving extremist training from their ISIS mothers, whom he describes as the most dangerous element in the camp.
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Khalil pointed out that the direct cause of the increase in murder rates is the failure of countries to repatriate their citizens, especially since most of the women are still receiving funding from the remnants of the organization and are in contact with supportive countries. He warned that if the situation persists, it could lead to the formation of a more radical and powerful terrorist organization than ISIS, stating: "Al-Hol might become another model akin to the Bucca prison in Iraq, which produced ISIS."
### Measures and Solutions
The Syrian Democratic Forces, with the support of the international coalition against terrorism, are launching campaigns to control the camp and transfer extremists to other heavily guarded sections. Khalil considers the only solution to be an agreement to repatriate these individuals to their home countries, warning of the potential escape of ISIS members and their execution of attacks within Syria and Iraqi Kurdistan.
Iraq announced last Thursday that it had repatriated 490 individuals from the camp, having previously brought back 100 families and about 95 households between September and May of this year. Since the establishment of Al-Hol camp, it has become a breeding ground for crime, originally attracting Iraqi refugees following the Gulf War in 1991, with numbers doubling during the U.S. invasion in 2003. The danger of the camp escalated following ISIS's occupation of cities in Iraq and Syria in 2014, which led to a surge of displaced individuals, and after the announcement of the organization's defeat in Syria in 2019, ISIS families joined the camp.
