Numbers vary regarding the number of detainees in the Syrian Al-Hawl camp, but they are more than 40 thousand people according to the lowest estimates, belonging to 60 nationalities, including Iraq and other countries. It represents the largest human bloc for ISIS after gathering its remnants from Iraq and Syria after losing most of its strongholds in fierce battles. But what is worrying are the “black sectors” that show an agenda to create a hybrid organization that may be more dangerous than ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Representatives and observers described Al-Hawl camp in Syria as a “time bomb” that may explode at any moment, and Iraq and the countries of the region will be in front of thousands of armed men, after they pointed to attempts to create a new terrorist organization inside the camp, by many parties.
Yasser Iskandar, a member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, admitted, during an interview with Al Aalem Al Jadeed, that “the Syrian Al-Hawl camp is a time bomb in light of the presence of extremists from 60 countries inside it, and 40-45 percent of its total population are less than 20 years old.”
Iskandar adds, “The Syrian Al-Hawl camp represents a threat to security in Iraq, and Baghdad’s efforts are currently focused on strengthening the security of the border with Syria. Important strides have been made in this direction in the last three years, and it has been fortified by up to 95 percent.”
He continues, “Iraq is pressing hard to dismantle Al-Hawl camp, because it realizes its danger to the security of the Middle East, and that it is a pressure card in the hands of some countries to destabilize security and stability, but despite this, Baghdad prepared early for any threats by securing the borders.”
On May 10, National Security Advisor Qasim Al-Araji announced Iraq’s call on 60 countries to withdraw their nationals from ISIS terrorist families in the Syrian Al-Hawl camp, pointing out that Russia recently withdrew 32 children (12 girls and 20 boys) between the ages of 5 and 17 years.
On March 11, informed sources revealed the intensification of disputes between the families of ISIS leaders and members in Al-Hawl camp, amid information indicating that a large number of these families want to remain in Syria, as they are all wanted by the security forces and tribes on the grounds of committing killings, bombings, and displacement against residents of the governorate during their invasion of the cities of Anbar.
After the sharp disputes that erupted from time to time inside the camp between leaders and members of the organization, a British report revealed confrontations and public carrying of weapons in the foreign families section of ISIS families.
It is noteworthy that the leader in the coordination framework, Uday Abdul Hadi, confirmed, on February 5, that America wants to reopen a secret corridor to the Syrian terror towards Iraq through bombing west of Anbar, as the presence of the Popular Mobilization Forces in this region constitutes a threat to the American plans, which It wants to transport terrorists by various means and create secret corridors for their flow.”
In addition to what Iskender said, a member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, Ali Nimah, also stated, “The Iraqi National Security Advisory recently confirmed that 24 countries have begun withdrawing their nationals from the Syrian Al-Hawl camp out of 60 countries, which is a good step in order to end the danger of a human bloc that is the most dangerous on global security.”
Ali points out that “the presence of thousands of children and boys in an extremist environment will inevitably produce terrorists who pose a danger wherever they go,” indicating that “Al-Hawl camp is nothing but a Western agenda.”
Thousands of ISIS members were transferred to Al-Hawl camp, after it was defeated in Syria in March 2019, and its control over large areas of Iraqi and Syrian territory was ended.
Iraq is striving to dismantle the Al-Hawl camp in Syria and end its file as soon as possible, for reasons that its officials attribute to the fact that the camp represents a dangerous hotbed of extremism, in light of its embrace of thousands of Iraqis, while security experts indicated that closing the camp takes a long time due to the security vetting procedures for those exiting it.
The first convoy from Al-Hawl camp entered the country in the middle of last year, carrying 94 Iraqi families, accompanied by heavy guard, where it settled in the Al-Jadaa camp, south of Nineveh. According to sources, this convoy is part of 500 families that will be transported to Iraq, based on an agreement with the Al-Hawl camp administration.
In November 2022, Al Aalem Al Jadeed revealed many secrets about a conflict taking place between the National Security Advisory and the Ministry of Immigration and Displacement, regarding the closure of the Iraqi Al-Jadaa camp and the Syrian Al-Hawl camp, as sources in the Ministry of Immigration revealed that the minister insisted on closing Al-Jadaa camp within one month, which is what the Chancellery rejected due to its “security risk” and withdrew from this file, in light of specialists’ fears that closing the camp so quickly and without rehabilitating the families may cause security problems in the future.
For his part, security affairs expert Ahmed Al-Tamimi explained, during an interview with Al Aalem Al Jadeed, that “there are prohibited sectors in Al-Hawl camp that are under the management of intelligence departments, and this matter is not a secret, but rather they are attempts to produce new structures to manage extremism and use it as a geopolitical card.”
He continues, “Al-Qaeda, and then ISIS, are nothing but an intelligence industry that exploits extremism and directs it towards specific paths, and this is what happened in Iraq,” stressing that “without dismantling Al-Hawl camp and countries withdrawing their nationals from it, it will remain a source of direct threat to Iraq’s security, and it will increase with the growing population.”
The establishment of Al-Hawl camp dates back to the 1990s, when it was established by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on the outskirts of the town of Al-Hawl, in coordination with the Syrian government. More than 15,000 Iraqi and Palestinian refugees were displaced there, many of whom migrated to various parts of the world with the help of the United Nations, especially after the events of 1991, when the former Iraqi regime seized the State of Kuwait, and the United States led a war against it through an international coalition.
