The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) says it has withdrawn from a camp holding thousands of people with alleged links to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), as clashes with the Syrian government continue despite a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 said 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]”.
Syria’s interior ministry condemned the move, saying it took place without co-ordination with the government or US-led coalition against IS.
It came after dozens of suspected IS fighters escaped nearby Shaddadi prison during clashes between government forces and the SDF.
On Sunday, the militia alliance agreed to give the government control of the Kurdish-run autonomous region in the north-east, including its prisons and camps, in a deal meant to end almost two weeks of fighting.
The agreement also said the SDF’s tens of thousands of fighters would withdraw from Raqqa and Deir al-Zour provinces to neighbouring Hassakeh, and then be integrated as individuals into the defence and interior ministries’ forces.
It represented a major blow for the SDF, which had been reluctant to give up the autonomy that it won for Syria’s Kurdish minority when helping US-led coalition forces defeat IS militarily during the country’s 13-year civil war.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to reunify Syria since he led the rebel offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, but the country remains deeply divided and has been rocked by waves of deadly sectarian violence.
The SDF announced that its fighters had withdrawn from al-Hol camp on Tuesday afternoon as the Syrian army and interior ministry forces advanced deep into Hassakeh province, after taking control of Deir al-Zour and Raqqa.
“Due to the international indifference toward the issue of the IS terrorist organisation and the failure of the international community to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter, our forces were compelled to withdraw from al-Hol camp and redeploy in the vicinity of cities in northern Syria that are facing increasing risks and threats,” a statement said.
In a statement sent to the Kurdish Hawar news agency, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi urged US-led coalition forces – once his main ally – to “bear its responsibilities in protecting facilities”.
“We withdrew to predominantly Kurdish areas and protecting them is a red line,” he added.
The Syrian interior ministry said the SDF units had pulled out of al-Hol without any co-ordination in an “attempt to pressure the government over the fight against terrorism”.
The ministry added that it was “taking all necessary measures in co-ordination and co-operation with the international coalition to maintain security and stability”.
The defence ministry also said it was ready to assume control of the camp as well as all prisons holding suspected IS fighters in the region.
Before the fighting with the government erupted earlier this month, the SDF was holding about 8,000 suspected IS fighters at prisons in north-eastern Syria.
Around 34,000 people linked to IS were also being detained at al-Hol and another camp, Roj, the UN reported last August. The population of the camps, of which 60% were children, comprised 6,700 Iraqis, 15,500 Syrians and 8,500 citizens of other countries, including the UK.
The SDF, US and UN have long called for the repatriation of the foreign IS suspects and their families from north-eastern Syria, citing the political instability and dire conditions in the prisons and camps, but many countries have refused to take them.
Earlier, the government and SDF traded accusations over the escape of detainees from an SDF-run prison in Shaddadi, in southern Hassakeh province, where as many as 10,000 suspected IS fighters were under guard.
The interior ministry said early on Tuesday that its special forces and army soldiers had entered the town following “the escape of around 120 [IS] terrorists” from the prison.
The security forces conducted “targeted and systematic” search operations in the town and its surrounding area, which resulted in the arrest of 81 of the fugitives, it added.
On Monday afternoon, the SDF said it had lost control of Shaddadi prison after “Damascus-affiliated factions” mounted a series of attacks and killed of dozens of its fighters, who it said had been attempting to “prevent a serious security catastrophe”.
Later, SDF spokesman Farhad Shami said around 1,500 IS members had escaped during the clashes, according to Reuters news agency.
The SDF also accused government forces of attacking al-Aqtan prison, north of the city of Raqqa, which is holding IS members and leaders.
On Tuesday, a statement said the prison’s buildings and facilities had been shelled and its water supply cut off.
“These practices constitute a blatant violation of humanitarian standards and pose a serious threat to the lives of the detainees,” it warned.
However, the defence ministry denied that there had been clashes in the vicinity of the prison.
State news agency Sana cited the ministry as saying the facility was “fully secured”, with military police and internal security forces deployed around it.
“The ministry of the interior is in continuous contact with the administration of al-Aqtan prison to ensure that all necessary supplies are provided,” it added.
The US, which was once the SDF’s main ally in Syria, has not yet commented directly on the withdrawal from al-Hol or the clashes around the prisons.
However, special envoy Tom Barrack did say the US was focused on ensuring the security of facilities holding IS prisoners and facilitating talks between the SDF and President Sharaa’s government on implementation of the ceasefire deal.
“This moment offers a pathway to full integration into a unified Syrian state with citizenship rights, cultural protections, and political participation – long denied under Bashar al-Assad’s regime, where many Kurds faced statelessness, language restrictions, and systemic discrimination,” he wrote on X.
On Monday evening, Sharaa’s office said he had spoken by telephone with US President Donald Trump to discuss developments in Syria.
The two leaders “stressed the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial unity and independence” and “the need to guarantee the rights and protection of the Kurdish people within the framework of the Syrian state,” according to a report by Sana.
Abdi’s statement on Tuesday stressed the need for the government to “halt its attacks and return to the negotiating table”, according to Hawar.
He also appealed to Kurds across the world and friends of the region to “rally around the resistance of SDF fighters to ensure the protection of civilians”, it said.
