‘Chaos’ as Kurdish-Led Forces Stop Guarding Camp for ISIS Families

The Syrian Democratic Forces withdrew abruptly from the sprawling Al Hol camp, according to Syrian and Kurdish officials, during a conflict with the government.Al Hol detention camp in northeastern Syria in March. For years, the camp has been a concern for the United States and other Western governments.Credit...Daniel Berehulak/The New York TimesJan. 20, 2026, 10:31 a.m. ETKurdish forces withdrew on Tuesday from a vast detention camp that houses tens of thousands of family members of Islamic State fighters as tensions with the government grew over who controls northeastern Syria, according to Kurdish and government officials.The Syrian Democratic Forces, or S.D.F., is led by Kurds and has controlled Al Hol camp for more than a decade. It said it had been forced to redeploy troops to nearby areas. The Syrian Government, in turn, accused the S.D.F. of abandoning its posts without coordination with officials or with the U.S.-led coalition, adding that this had allowed detainees to escape.Jihan Hanan, the camp’s administrator, confirmed that Kurdish-led forces had completely left the camp and described scenes of chaos on Tuesday in a phone interview with The New York Times.“The families are fleeing from the camp,” said Ms. Hanan, who was in the nearby city of Qamishli. “They are burning the buildings and offices. There is chaos.” She said she was receiving updates from people still working in the camp.The S.D.F., with American backing, led a campaign for years that stripped the Islamic State of territory it had seized during the country’s long-running civil war. The Kurdish-led militia captured thousands of Islamic State fighters along the way and tens of thousands of their family members. For years, the S.D.F. has secured the prisons and detention camps.Many governments have been reluctant to repatriate their citizens among the women and children from the camp, citing security concerns, legal hurdles and political opposition at home. Human rights groups argue that leaving families in prolonged detention has deepened a humanitarian crisis and risked further radicalization.The abrupt withdrawal from Al Hol camp on Tuesday came a day after negotiations appeared to break down between the Syrian Government and the S.D.F. to put in place a deal they had made on Sunday, according to Syrian Government and Kurdish officials.The proposed agreement was intended to end weeks of deadly clashes between the two sides. It would have had the S.D.F. merge into the national military and hand over control of security infrastructure, including prisons holding Islamic State detainees.But clashes and violence in recent days have made the agreement look increasingly tenuous.Any loss of control at Al Hol camp would create instability during a fragile push for peace by the Syrian Government, with consequences that could ripple across the region.For years, the camp has been a persistent source of instability and a concern for the United States and other Western governments, which have warned that a collapse in security could fuel a resurgence of the Islamic State.Since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Islamic State militants have stepped up attacks in Syria, targeting civilians, government forces and U.S. troops.Reham Mourshed and Raja Abdulrahim contributed reporting.Euan Ward is a Times reporter covering Lebanon and Syria. He is based in Beirut.Alissa J. Rubin reports on stories across the Middle East, including ongoing conflicts and long-term problems such as climate change. She is based in Paris.SKIP