On January 20th, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) and its defense forces were forced by the army of the Syrian Transitional Government (STG) to leave al-Hawl refugee camp. The camp functioned as a detention center for surrended or captured families of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, ISIL, DAESH). Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and YPJ (Women’s Protection Units) have fought ISIS from 2014 until today, sacrificing thousands of lives in order to end the Caliphate in Syria.
Al-Hawl detention camp is one of many examples of the dedication of DAANES in the battle against fundamentalist terorrism. After the fall of the ISIS Caliphate in 2019, the camp held over 70 thousand people, mostly foreign (non-Syrian) women and children. The Self Adminstration has worked constantly to repatriate them, however the will to cooperate from other (mostly European) countries was little and insincere and therefore most of these foreign people remained under the responsibility of DAANES.
The people of North and East Syria (NES) themselves struggle to access healthcare, water, and food. Despite this, they have used their own limited resources to provide security, health care, and logistical support for these captives to the best extent possible, in order to reduce the threat of terrorist attacks worldwide.
On January 20th 2026, these efforts came to an abrupt end. The invasion of STG forces pushed the security and health infrastructure of DAANES away and STG took over the camp.
This is terrible news for all of humanity.
STG’s New Syrian Army is an umbrella for various jihadist militias lead by HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) a successor of al-Nusra Front – publicly confirmed as the official Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda, and remands of ISIS and other armed jihadist groups.
This now risks digressing into a confusing list of names and acronyms. To clarify the point, from 2012 to 2013, al-Nusra Front’s full name was the “Victory Front for the People of the Levant by the Mujahideen of the Levant on the Fields of Jihad” and the founding emir was none other than the current self-established president of Syria Ahmed al-Sharaa.
A detention camp of tens of thousands of jihadists was taken over by a jihadist army under the noses of the US coalition forces, who stood by watching it play out (see live footage here).
MSDN accounts of work with ISIS women and children
The Caliphate is a highly patriarchal system, where the role of men and women is clearly defined and visibly unequal. It would, however, be a mistake to assume that women have no agency or role in the holy war (Jihad).
Medical Self-Defense Network (MSDN) members were present during the efforts to liberate Syria from ISIS, as well as in al-Hawl camp. We would like to share a few short chronicles of experience, so that readers may better understand the type of people living in al-Hawl camp.
WARNING: The paragraphs below includes graphic descriptions of injuries and may be distressing to some readers
In March 2019 an MSDN team deployed medics during the liberating efforts in the Euphrates valley, near Deir Ezzor in NES. This was the last stronghold of ISIS. We worked there as first responders at a triage point and many of the injured come to us for initial treatment.
Account 1
When we heard the cars honking at a distance we knew that wounded people were coming. One day when we heard it, we ran out and found two little children, one boy and one girl, maybe 2 and 3 years old, with severe blast and burn wounds. When we were treating them, the older one was still conscious and was screaming “Mom, mama!”. On the same scene close by, our colleagues were treating YPJ fighters with similar injuries.
After the transport to the coalition field hospital, we found out that their mother had used her children in order to get close to an SDF checkpoint and then she blew herself up. In this process she killed some and injured others, including her own children. Both of them later died in the hospital.
Account 2
MSDN’s role was specific as we worked in the field but weren’t part of the armed forces. We would often coordinate with units using vehicles, like Hummers and different pick-ups as those could transport us closer to the wounded or the other way around. This unit hadn’t lost anyone in action for several years (during the fight against ISIS, there was no air-force used against SDF). One day they brought a car with several wounded from their own unit, with blast injuries.
It was reported that they patrolled the cliffs over the village and saw a small group in the distance. They lowered their guard, realizing that it was just children playing. After one of their cars exploded, they realized that the kids had a rocket launcher.
This fighter was from Shengal (Sinjar) and was the last survivor from his family. Despite a quick treatment and transport, he died later in hospital of blood poisoning. The ISIS member that ultimately killed him was a nine year old boy.
Account 3
During the final surrender of DAESH (ISIS), we had a few hour window to treat people before they were put on transports to al-Hawl camp. We decided that we will treat the children. During this winter night, we provided care to dozens of infants and toddlers in bad conditions as they were born and carried around the frontlines with their parents.
While treating them, their mothers would talk to us in perfect English, spewing things like: “You will burn like dogs in hell you dirty infidels”. When they saw that we don’t react and keep working, they wanted to ensure that we understand and tried: “Sprechen sie Deutsch? Parlez-vous français? Ty govorish po-russki?”
The surprising amount of languages, the effort they would extend in order to make sure that their message could be conveyed, all happening while we were treating their kids, was a surreal reality check.
Account 4
Weqfa Jin Azad offered education for children in Al-Hawl camp. In the camp were women and their children, as the men were imprisoned or dead. Women were very much indoctrinated by ISIS and they preferred to teach their children the Quran at home. The women told their boys that they were born as kings to bring about the Caliphate and that they would break out from the camp soon. I (the medic) was thinking how they would be able to live in a world outside of the camp. The children were trained to hate and to admire weapons, they were trained to be warriors at a young age. This was all done by women and they knew what they were doing, while also being indoctrinated to carry patriarchy forward.
Humanity at a crossroads
The events unfolding in NES these last days are not some remote conflicts taking place in a vacuum. These are historical moments where the currents of resitance, hope and love are threatened by the tides of dystopia.
Thankfully people’s morale is high, as we painted in the Rojava: Resistance means life article, but the question over the future of humanity cannot be left only in the hands of people in North and East Syria. What’s happening elsewhere today will impact the reality in our own places tomorrow. It is the responsibility of all of us to act according to the vision of the world we want to live in.
For more information and footage from al-Hawl camp, we recommend for you to read: