All posts tagged: Syrias

Syria’s Al-Hol camp emptied after mass escape of jihadist families

Syria’s Al-Hol camp emptied after mass escape of jihadist families

Published by Sam Flores

Women and children in the foreigners’ section of the Al-Hol camp, Syria, January 21, 2026. PHILÉMON BARBIER/HORS FORMAT FOR LE MONDE The long-feared scenario of a mass escape from the Al-Hol camp, which housed the families of suspected members of the Islamic State group (IS) in northeastern Syria, has now materialized. After the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on January 20, under pressure from Syrian government forces who took control the following day, most of the camp’s 24,000 residents left. Among them were 6,300 women and children of foreign jihadists who lived in the high-security section known as the “Annex,” according to two humanitarian sources interviewed by Le Monde, confirming information reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP). According to Arthur Quesnay, a Syria expert, “80% of Al-Hol’s residents are believed to have escaped.” He added: “This may not necessarily have been the intention of Damascus, but it does reflect a real lack of control over its forces, particularly over groups of foreign fighters who played a key role in the surge of solidarity …

What will it take for Syrians to return to Aleppo after years of war? | Syria’s War

What will it take for Syrians to return to Aleppo after years of war? | Syria’s War

Published by Sam Flores

On a recent trip from Germany, where he lives, to his hometown of Aleppo, Alhakam Shaar made a decision. He would not stay at a hotel or with friends. Instead, he would stay at what used to be his father’s office in Aleppo’s Old City. There was only one problem. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “Not a single room had a closable window or door,” Shaar, who had been away from the city for a decade, told Al Jazeera. Aleppo’s winters are brutally cold, with temperatures reaching well below zero degrees Celsius. Still, he bought a sleeping bag that had been advertised as capable of withstanding extreme weather. “That didn’t turn out to be true, and I still woke up with cold toes many nights,” he said. But despite the cold, he did not regret the decision. Although his trip to Syria was short – about two weeks, in part due to flight cancellations after armed clashes in Aleppo – Shaar started renovating his old family home, also in the Old City, that …

In Syria’s Roj detention camp, jihadist women are convinced they will soon be ‘freed’

In Syria’s Roj detention camp, jihadist women are convinced they will soon be ‘freed’

Published by Sam Flores

“We’ll see what happens with the new government. In any case, it will always be better than them [the Kurds],” declared a young French woman in her twenties, stepping out of a tent after her mother, both dressed in niqabs. She remained cautious, casting a furtive glance toward a member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) intelligence services watching the scene from a short distance away. The two French women, after some hesitation, agreed to a brief conversation, either out of curiosity or simply to pass the time. Both refused to give their names. Since January 13, news of the advance by Syrian government forces into the Kurdish autonomous region has spread through the lanes of the Roj camp: a sea of tents, lost in the desert countryside of northeastern Syria, surrounded by walls topped with barbed wire. Some of the foreign women who joined the Islamic State group (IS) live here. Under the January 30 agreement, which provides for the gradual integration of the region’s institutions into the Syrian state, the new authorities are …

Syrian forces deploy in Hasakah under ceasefire agreement with SDF | Syria’s War News

Syrian forces deploy in Hasakah under ceasefire agreement with SDF | Syria’s War News

Published by Sam Flores

Syrian forces move into the northeastern city, which was previously under the control of the Kurdish-led SDF. Published On 2 Feb 20262 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The Syrian army has moved into the northeastern city of Hasakah, which was formerly under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a first step towards implementing a US-backed ceasefire deal. A large convoy of trucks was seen entering the city on Monday hours after the SDF declared a curfew there. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Syrian government forces were also expected to enter the cities of Kobane and Qamishli. The SDF reached a comprehensive agreement with the government on Friday to integrate with the Syrian army, after Kurdish-led forces ceded territory to advancing government troops in recent weeks after months of tensions and sporadic clashes. Government forces are expected to be stationed in Syrian state buildings in Hasakah’s so-called “security zone”, a Syrian official and a Kurdish security source told the Reuters news agency ahead of …

Syria’s government reaches agreement with Kurds of Rojava

Syria’s government reaches agreement with Kurds of Rojava

Published by Sam Flores

Syrian army soldiers recover a drone used to monitor positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces on the front line in the village of Al-Malkieh, Syria, January 16, 2026. PHILÉMON BARBIER/HORS FORMAT FOR LE MONDE The prospect of war between Damascus and Kurdish forces has receded. The Syrian transitional government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, Kurdish-led) announced on Friday, January 30, a comprehensive agreement for the gradual integration of military forces and the administration of the Kurdish autonomous zone into the Syrian state. This marked a victory for Damascus, which restored its authority over territories administered by the SDF and put an end to the dream of Kurdish autonomy in Rojava. However, the Kurds achieved significant advances in local autonomy and national rights. On X (formerly Twitter), Ilham Ahmed, a senior official in the Kurdish autonomous administration, expressed her “profound gratitude” to the mediators, especially “the United States of America and France, which have made tireless efforts” to achieve this agreement. The US called it a “historic step” toward Syrian unification. France “congratulated” both parties …

Syrian army, Kurdish-led SDF accuse each other of ceasefire violations | Syria’s War News

Syrian army, Kurdish-led SDF accuse each other of ceasefire violations | Syria’s War News

Published by Sam Flores

Exchange of barbs comes a day after the Syrian government extended the ceasefire with the SDF by 15 days. A ceasefire between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) appears to be largely holding, even as the two sides have accused each other of violating its terms. The army on Sunday said the SDF launched multiple drone attacks in the Aleppo countryside, while the United States-trained Kurdish forces on Monday accused the army of targeting a Kurdish-majority city near the Turkish border. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Government troops have seized swaths of northern and eastern territory in the last two weeks from the SDF in a rapid turn of events that has consolidated the leadership of Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa. An initial four-day ceasefire between the Syrian army and the SDF, reached on January 20, was extended by 15 days soon after it expired on Saturday night. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the SDF launched more than 25 explosive drones on the army positions …

UN aid convoy reaches Syria’s Ain al-Arab as truce between army, SDF holds | Syria’s War News

UN aid convoy reaches Syria’s Ain al-Arab as truce between army, SDF holds | Syria’s War News

Published by Sam Flores

Convoy carrying food and fuel reaches Kurdish-majority town, also known as Kobane, in Aleppo province. A United Nations convoy carrying “life-saving” aid has arrived in the Kurdish-majority town of Ain al-Arab in northern Syria as a ceasefire agreement between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continues to hold. The convoy’s arrival in Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane, on Sunday came amid growing concerns about humanitarian conditions in the town, which has been surrounded by Syrian government forces. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Electricity and water in the town have also been cut off for days. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the convoy consisted of 24 trucks carrying “life-saving aid, including fuel, bread, and ready-to-eat rations, to support people affected by the recent developments”. It said the convoy was coordinated with the Syrian government. The Syrian army said in a statement that it was opening two corridors, one to Ain al-Arab, located in Aleppo province, and another to the nearby …

Syria’s Al-Hol prison has become a mini-caliphate for IS

Syria’s Al-Hol prison has become a mini-caliphate for IS

Published by Sam Flores

People stand behind the fences of Al-Hol camp in Syria after the Syrian government took control following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on January 21, 2026. PHILÉMON BARBIER/HORS FORMAT FOR LE MONDE Gathered behind the fence enclosing the “annex” – the secured section reserved for the wives and children of foreign jihadists at the Al-Hol detention camp in northeastern Syria – boys from Central Asia recounted to Interior Ministry guards their lives over the past seven years under the watch of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a predominantly Kurdish group. Those over 12 years old had lived in hiding to avoid being sent to a detention center for teenagers in Qamishli. “I want to leave here and find a job, to live, in Syria. I know only Syria. If I go back to my country, the army will take me,” said Abdallah, a 13-year-old from Tajikistan who gave only his first name. He has not heard from his father since the battle of Baghouz, the last stronghold of the Islamic State group …

Who was Rifaat al-Assad, commander of Syria’s 1982 Hama massacre? | Syria’s War

Who was Rifaat al-Assad, commander of Syria’s 1982 Hama massacre? | Syria’s War

Published by Sam Flores

EXPLAINER ‘Butcher of Hama’ and former Syrian vice president, convicted of money laundering in France and accused of war crimes in Switzerland, has died at age 89. Listen to this article | 5 mins Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the former commander of the paramilitary “Defence Companies” (Saraya al-Difa), has died in the United Arab Emirates at the age of 89. The Reuters news agency cited two sources confirming his death on January 21, 2026. Rifaat had reportedly fled from Beirut to Dubai following the collapse of the Assad regime and the flight of his nephew to Russia in December 2024. Born in Qardaha, northwestern Syria, in 1937, Rifaat, a member of the country’s Alawite minority, was a central figure in the establishment of the Assad family’s rule in the 1970s. But he fell out with his brother, former President Hafez al-Assad, following a failed coup attempt in the early 1980s. Here is a brief timeline of the main events during the life and career of the man known as the …

Explainer-How Syria’s Government Has Redrawn Map With Advances Against the Kurds

Explainer-How Syria’s Government Has Redrawn Map With Advances Against the Kurds

Published by Sam Flores

Jan 21 (Reuters) – The Syrian government has seized swathes of northern and eastern Syria from Kurdish forces, ‌consolidating ​President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s rule nearly 14 months after Bashar ‌al-Assad was toppled. The rapid turn of events has brought almost all of Syria back under the authority of the Damascus-based state, ​following years of conflict that fractured the country, and puts a spotlight on shifting U.S. policy. WHAT TRIGGERED THE SYRIAN ARMY ADVANCES? Tensions had been simmering between the government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces for ‍months. Damascus has demanded the SDF, spearheaded by the Kurdish ​YPG, merge fully into the security forces and that governing bodies in the Kurdish-run regions also be integrated. The Kurdish-led forces have resisted, aiming to preserve their regional autonomy and expressing concerns that ​the Islamist-led administration in ⁠Damascus seeks to dominate Syria. Conflict erupted this month, with government troops seizing Kurdish-run districts of Aleppo before thrusting eastwards last week, forcing Kurdish fighters to retreat. WHERE HAVE THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES ADVANCED? The provinces of Raqqa, Deir al-Zor and parts …