Kurdish Forces Withdraw from Al-Hol Camp amid Ongoing Clashes in Syria

Tue Jan 20 2026 23:25:00 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a significant move, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have retreated from the Al-Hol camp which houses thousands of alleged Islamic State affiliates, amid continuing clashes with the Syrian government.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have withdrawn from the Al-Hol camp, citing international indifference towards IS as the reason for their relocation. This comes in the wake of violent clashes with Syrian government forces that led to the escape of suspected IS fighters from a nearby prison. The decision to withdraw marks a considerable shift in control over the Kurdish-run region, affecting security dynamics significantly.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they have withdrawn from a camp holding thousands of people with alleged links to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), as clashes with the Syrian government continue despite a ceasefire agreement.

The SDF stated that its forces were 'compelled to withdraw' from Al-Hol camp and redeploy to other cities in northern Syria 'due to the international indifference toward the issue of [IS]'.

The Syrian interior ministry condemned the move, asserting it occurred without coordination with the government or the US-led coalition against IS.

This withdrawal followed an incident where suspected IS fighters escaped from a nearby Shaddadi prison during clashes between government forces and the SDF.

The interior ministry reported that 120 detainees had broken out of the SDF-run prison, although 81 of them were recaptured by soldiers and police. The SDF claimed that government forces had liberated 1,500 detainees after they lost control of the facility.

The situation further escalated with the shelling of Al-Aqtan prison near Raqqa, which also reported a loss of water supply.

On Sunday, the militia alliance agreed to transfer control of the Kurdish-run autonomous region in the northeast, including its prisons and camps, to the government amid an effort to conclude nearly two weeks of fighting.

This agreement also stipulated that the SDF's tens of thousands of fighters would retreat from Raqqa and Deir al-Zour provinces to neighboring Hassakeh and subsequently be fully integrated into the defense and interior ministries' forces.

This change represents a major setback for the SDF, which had hesitated to relinquish the autonomy they had secured for Syria's Kurdish minority during their partnership with US-led coalition forces to defeat IS militarily over the course of the 13-year civil war.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa has remained committed to the reunification of Syria since leading a rebel offensive that ousted Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, although the country continues to be deeply divided and experiences sporadic waves of lethal sectarian violence.