SULAIMANI (ESTA) — General Commander of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi on Monday called on the international community to repatriate their citizens – women and children associated with Islamic State (ISIS) – held in al-Hol camp in northeast Syria.
The SDF, consisted of Kurdish and Arab fighters, launched a “Humanitarian and Security Operation” in the camp on Sunday to root out ISIS sleeper cells, who the group says has killed at least 47 people in the camp.
“Our forces have launched a humanitarian & security operation in al-Hol [camp] to arrest ISIS criminals and protect civilians,” Abdi said in a tweet.
“We renew our call on foreign countries to take back their citizens & give more humanitarian support to al-Hol to improve the conditions & stability in the camp,” he added.
The camp, controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), holds 62,000 people from many countries, according to the United Nations.
The U.S.-backed group said on Sunday that the camp had turned into a center for ISIS to regroup and reorganize.
In February, the U.N. rights experts urged 57 states to repatriate nearly 10,000 of their citizens held in the al-Hol camp in “sub-human” conditions without legal process.
Some 9,462 foreign women and children are among more than 64,600 people detained at al-Hol and Roj camps, run by Syrian Kurdish authorities, where the majority of residents are Iraqi and Syrian nationals.
