“Al-Hawl mini-state” in February 2021 | Ten murders committed by ISIS affiliates, while nearly 400 displaced Syrians leave the camp under SDC initiative
The successive incidents at Al-Hawl camp in the far south-east region of Al-Hasakah are now a 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 unwanted citizens who joined the notorious organization. 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) tracked and monitored the key developments in the camp in February 2021.
SOHR activists managed to document 10 murders in Al-Hawl camp in February, all carried out by ISIS affiliates, including male and female extremists, through gunfire and attacks with sharp tools in the camp’s first, third and fifth sections. The breakdown of fatalities was as follows:
- Six Iraqi refugees
- Four Syrians, including one woman.
Accordingly, the number of murders documented by SOHR in Al-Hawl camp since the beginning of 2021 has risen to 23, 13 murders in January and ten in February. The breakdown of fatalities in the past two months was as follows:
- 15 Iraqi refugees, including a child and three women.
- Seven Syrian people, including two woman, the head of the “Syrian Council” in the camp, and a member of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish).
- A gunman of a cell responsible for assassinations and murders in the camp, who was killed when he blew himself up with a grenade just after he had been caught by an Asayish patrol which was pursuing him.
In connection to this, SOHR sources have reported that the Syrian displaced woman who was assassinated in her tent on February 24, was not officially working for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and she was just a volunteer. The assassination was not related to her voluntary work with the organization, and she was accused of “collaborating with the Internal Security Forces (Asayish)”.
On February 27, Al-Hawl camp experienced a tragic incident, as seven children and two women, were killed and 19 others sustained various injuries due to a fire which breakout in a tent in Al-Hawl camp and extended to other tents in the camp’s fourth section. No details were reported about the reason behind this fire if it was caused by a technical malfunction or it was deliberately committed by cells responsible for assassinations in the camp.
On the other hand, the administration of the Al-Hawl camp in the eastern countryside of Al-Hasakah released, on February 21, tens of families of some 400 people. According to SOHR sources, most of the families who left the camp on that day were from Manbij city and countryside. This development came as a part of the initiative by Syria Democratic Council “SDC” to evacuate the Syrians from Al-Hawl camp. Accordingly, 203 Syrian families have left the camp since early 2021, 98 families in January, and 105 families in February.
The Syrian Observatory renews its appeal to the international community for a solution to “Al Hawl mini-state” crisis, which is considered a clear and present danger to everyone. We, at the Syrian Observatory, once more renew our call to the UN Security Council, all organizations concerned and countries that claim to respect and champion human rights globally to act immediately to stop the crimes and violations committed against the Syrian people by the Islamic State and many other active actors on the ground, and to establish appropriate courts for prosecuting the perpetrators. We call on all those countries that have citizens in Al-Hawl camp to find a solution for those individuals and face up to their responsibility.