Al-Hawl Camp in Syria the Most Dangerous Camp in the World

 

“They go to their deaths thinking that they are going to take a bath’’.

With these words, analysts described the crimes of the Islamic State organization committed by its members against civilians in Syria and Iraq, the two countries that have suffered from the control of extremist Islamists over large areas in the two countries for four consecutive years.

The control of the Islamic State on the ground ended nearly two years ago, but the organization is still active around the world, and its most dangerous point remains the Al-Hawl camp, which is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces and is home to thousands of ISIS members and their families.

 

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant

A Sunni jihadist organization that adopts a violent and extremist ideology that uses murder and intimidation to impose its influence on the areas that the organization was entering. This organization claimed religious authority over Muslims around the world and announced the establishment of the caliphate in Syria and Iraq after the killing and displacement of millions of civilians in the two countries.

The establishment of the organization after the Kuwait war and the security chaos in Iraq, and it became very active after the US invasion of Iraq and the disintegration of the security services and the state of chaos in the country.

The Islamic State gained more power after the Syrian crisis in 2011, the movement of fighters to the Syrian territories, and the establishment of an organization that would lead the operations of the Islamic State in the Syrian territories.

As a result of the weakness of the two countries and the state of chaos in the two countries, the organization was able to seize large lands from the lands of the two countries and obtain weapons from the army of the two countries in addition to external funding by the supporters of the organization.

 

Al-Hawl Camp

It was established in 1991 by the United Nations in the Syrian lands in order to receive refugees from Iraq after the Kuwaiti war and then received refugees fleeing the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the camp was officially closed in 2010 after the return of the Iraqis to their country.

Battles raged in Syria, and the camp was reopened by the United Nations and supervised by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration to receive the displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees who survived the oppression of the Islamic State.

After the elimination of the Islamic State, the captive fighters and their families were placed in this camp and Roj camp. The camp was divided into sections that include Iraqis, a section that includes Syrians, a section that includes fighters and their families, and a section that includes fighters and their families of foreign nationalities, while the dangerous fighters were sent to Kurdish prisons.

The Stronghold and the Beating Heart

Despite the elimination of the Islamic State organization and its end outside the camp, there are still those in the camp who practice the rules of organization inside the camp, and ideas are circulated among those present in the camp.

As mentioned earlier that the camp includes thousands of fighters and supporters of the Islamic State. It is easy for these people to spread their ideas, to communicate, and to continue to commit their crimes, even inside the camp.

Supporters abroad and fleeing members of the organization look at Al-Hawl camp, the beating heart of the Islamic state, as the organization carries out its activities inside the camp, and according to the sources, the organization’s operatives inside the camp have established the Islamic police and hold accountable those who do not follow the obligations imposed by its members in the camp.

In addition to the fact that the elements of the Islamic State receive support from supporters abroad and this is due to the poor infrastructure of education and rehabilitation programs for those in the camp, as there is no international support for the camp and the inability of Autonomous Administration alone to manage the dangerous camp.

And the refusal of the countries to which the elements of the Islamic State who are detained in the camp belong to the repatriation of their citizens and the refusal to recognize the children born in the areas of influence of the Islamic State.

Camp Risks to Security

The camp constitutes a point of great danger to local and regional security, as there have been many attempts to escape from the camp by the elements of the Islamic State, and the Turkish invasion of the Autonomous Administration-controlled areas has led to internal problems and fears of the Kurdish forces' inability to control the camp.

It is possible that the Turkish invasion constituted a turning point for the Islamic State fighters, as Turkey often fell short in deterring the Islamic State in its attacks on the Syrian-Turkish border areas.

The camp constitutes a point of consolidating beliefs and spreading extremist ideas among future generations. The situation worsens as the people in the camp flee, re-establish cells for the Islamic State, and carry out terrorist attacks in Syrian and Iraqi lands. Chaos in the two countries makes it easy for the elements of the Islamic state to wander easily in the two countries.

Absence of the International Community

The international community fails to perform its duty once again in Syria and refuses to intervene in the Al-Hawl camp issue, which was clearly evident in the meeting of the International Coalition last year.

As the countries participating in this alliance did not agree to develop a plan for this camp and contain the disaster that might emanate from it. The international community left the mission to the Kurdish Autonomous Administration and the SDF.

Autonomous Administration established courts to hold accountable former members of the Islamic State and to review the files of those in the camp, and the result was the release of those who did not participate in the crimes of the Islamic State.

So far, the Autonomous Administration has succeeded in controlling the camp and managing it in a way that prevents escape and the return of the organization to the lands and prevents funding from abroad.

Turkish invasion and pressure by the Syrian government on the Kurdish forces and the absence of the international community in the issue of support puts many questions on the table, including whether the camp explodes and the second era of the Islamic state begins.

 

Written by - Abduljlil Hage

Edited by – Adrija Saha