Kurdish-led SDF pulls out of camp for IS families during clashes in Syria

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said they had withdrawn from a camp holding thousands of people with alleged links to the Islamic State jihadist group, as clashes with the Syrian government continued despite a ceasefire agreement.

The Syrian Democratic Forces said that its forces were “forced to withdraw” from Al-Hawl camp and redeploy to other cities in northern Syria “due to international indifference towards the Al-Hawl issue.” [IS]”.

The Syrian Ministry of Interior condemned the move, saying it was made without coordination with the government or the US-led coalition against ISIS.

This came after dozens of suspected ISIS fighters fled near Al-Shaddadi prison during clashes between government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The militia alliance agreed on Sunday to give the government control of the Kurdish-run autonomous region in the country’s northeast, including prisons and camps, in a deal aimed at ending nearly two weeks of fighting.

The agreement also stipulates the withdrawal of tens of thousands of Syrian Democratic Forces fighters from Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor governorates to neighboring Hasaka, and then integrating them as individuals into the forces of the Ministries of Defense and Interior.

This represents a major blow to the SDF, which has been reluctant to give up the autonomy it won for Syria’s Kurdish minority when it helped US-led coalition forces defeat ISIS militarily during the country’s 13-year civil war.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged to reunite Syria since he led the rebel offensive that ousted Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, but the country remains deeply divided and rocked by waves of deadly sectarian violence.

The Syrian Democratic Forces announced the withdrawal of its fighters from Al-Hawl camp on Tuesday afternoon, with the advance of Syrian army forces and Interior Ministry forces deep into Al-Hasakah Governorate, after taking control of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.

The statement said: “Due to international indifference towards the issue of the terrorist organization ISIS and the failure of the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in addressing this dangerous matter, our forces were forced to withdraw from Al-Hawl camp and redeploy around the cities of northern Syria, which face increasing dangers and threats.”

In a statement sent to the Kurdish Hawar news agency, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi urged the US-led coalition forces – once his main ally – to “assume their responsibilities in protecting the facilities.”

He added: “We have withdrawn to areas with a Kurdish majority and their protection is a red line.”

The Syrian Ministry of Interior said that Syrian Democratic Forces units withdrew from Al-Hawl camp without any coordination in “an attempt to pressure the government regarding the war against terrorism.”

The ministry added that it “is taking all necessary measures in coordination and cooperation with the International Coalition to Preserve Security and Stability.”

The Ministry of Defense also said it was prepared to take control of the camp as well as all prisons holding suspected ISIS fighters in the area.

Before fighting broke out with the government earlier this month, the SDF was holding about 8,000 suspected ISIS fighters in prisons in northeastern Syria.

The United Nations reported last August that about 34,000 people linked to ISIS were also being held in Al-Hawl camp and another camp, Roj. The camp population, 60% of which is children, consists of 6,700 Iraqis, 15,500 Syrians, and 8,500 citizens of other countries, including the United Kingdom.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, the United States, and the United Nations have long called for the return of foreign ISIS suspects and their families from northeastern Syria, citing political instability and difficult conditions in prisons and camps, but many countries have refused to receive them.

Earlier, the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces exchanged accusations over the escape of detainees from a prison run by the Syrian Democratic Forces in Al-Shaddadi in the southern province of Hasakah, where up to 10,000 suspected ISIS fighters were under guard.

The Interior Ministry said early Tuesday that its special forces and army soldiers had entered the town after “about 120 people escaped.” [IS] terrorists from prison.

He added that the security forces carried out “targeted and systematic” searches in the town and its surroundings, which resulted in the arrest of 81 fugitives.

The Syrian Democratic Forces said on Monday afternoon that it had lost control of Al-Shaddadi prison after “pro-Damascus factions” launched a series of attacks and killed dozens of its fighters, who it said were trying to “prevent a serious security catastrophe.”

Later, Farhad al-Shami, spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, said that about 1,500 ISIS members fled during the clashes, according to the Reuters news agency.

The Syrian Democratic Forces also accused government forces of attacking Al-Qatat Prison north of the city of Raqqa, where ISIS members and leaders are held.

A statement on Tuesday said that the prison buildings and facilities were bombed and their water supply was cut off.

It warned that “these practices constitute a flagrant violation of humanitarian standards and constitute a serious threat to the lives of detainees.”

But the Ministry of Defense denied that clashes occurred around the prison.

The Syrian news agency SANA quoted the ministry as saying that the facility was “fully secured” with military police and internal security forces deployed around it.

She added, “The Ministry of Interior is in constant contact with the Cat Prison administration to ensure that all necessary supplies are provided.”

The United States, once the SDF’s main ally in Syria, has not commented directly on the withdrawal from Al-Hawl camp or the clashes around the prisons.

However, Special Envoy Tom Barrack said the United States is focused on ensuring the security of facilities holding ISIS prisoners and facilitating talks between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the government of President Shara on implementing the ceasefire agreement.

“This moment provides a path to full integration into a unified Syrian state with rights to citizenship, cultural protection, and political participation — long denied to Bashar al-Assad’s regime, where many Kurds faced statelessness, linguistic restrictions, and systematic discrimination,” he wrote on X.

Al-Sharaa’s office said, on Monday evening, that he spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump to discuss developments in Syria.

According to SANA’s report, the two leaders “stressed the importance of preserving the unity and independence of Syrian territories” and “the necessity of ensuring the rights and protection of the Kurdish people within the framework of the Syrian state.”

On Tuesday, Abdi’s statement stressed the need for the government to “stop its attacks and return to the negotiating table,” according to an interview.

He added that he also appealed to Kurds around the world and friends of the region “to rally around the resistance of Syrian Democratic Forces fighters to ensure the protection of civilians.”