Fate of Women and Children at Al Hol and Al Roj in Northeast Syria Increasingly Uncertain : Tom McDermott

What next for the Women and Children of ISIL held at Al Hol and Al Roj?

Authors: Bill Roggio / Associated Press / Ghaith Alsayed / Martin Chulov / Seth J. Frantzman

Publications: Long War Journal / AP News / The Guardian / The Jerusalem Post

The fate of approximately 27,400 women and children detained in Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps—along with roughly 9,000 ISIS fighters held in prisons across northeast Syria—hangs in the balance following violent clashes that erupted just hours after a ceasefire agreement was supposed to end nearly two weeks of fighting between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

These women and children have been held in arbitrary detention without charges or trial since the fall of ISIS in March 2019. For the approximately 15,000 children in the camps—representing 60 percent of the total population—the barbed wire perimeters are the only world most have ever known. Many were born in the camps or arrived as infants and toddlers, spending their formative years in conditions human rights organizations have described as "existential."

A ceasefire and integration agreement reached on January 18 marks the end of semi-autonomous control by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with authority over the Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps which are to be transferred to the Syrian government.

However, within hours of the agreement being signed, violent clashes erupted. On January 19, the SDF accused the Syrian government of attacking Shaddadi prison and Al-Aqtan prison in Hasakah province, where ISIS members are detained. Syrian authorities countered that three soldiers were killed by Kurdish fighters attempting to disrupt implementation of the ceasefire. Islamic State prisoners reportedly escaped during the fighting, though exact numbers remain unclear. Video evidence from January 18 shows Syrian government forces taking control of some detention facilities, including prisons housing ISIS women and children.

The sudden collapse of security has created a dangerous vacuum, heightening fears of mass breakouts and further violence. Reports emerged of celebrations and unrest among camp detainees anticipating the breakdown of SDF security structures. 

The escalating instability has paralyzed humanitarian operations at the worst possible moment. International organizations have been forced to suspend aid deliveries, cutting off essential supplies of food, clean water, and medicine to populations already rendered critically vulnerable by earlier US funding cuts in late January 2026. The funding suspension had forced Blumont, the organization responsible for camp management, to withdraw staff and security guards, creating chaos even before the current fighting erupted.

The international community now faces an urgent crisis: thousands of women and children detained without due process for nearly six years, held in deteriorating conditions, caught between collapsing security structures as control shifts from the SDF to a Syrian government whose capacity and willingness to maintain humanitarian standards remains uncertain. For the children of Al-Hol and Al-Roj, the question is not only what comes next, but whether the world will finally fulfill its obligations to end their arbitrary detention and provide pathways to rehabilitation and reintegration.