The telegraph
ISIS sleeping cells blamed for a series of beheadings in Syrian camp
Twenty people were killed in a Syrian displacement camp in January – including 10 who were beheaded – with guards suspecting Islamic State sleeping cells from executions, according to a research group based in northeastern Syria. The 20 Iraqis and Syrians killed in the Al-Hol camp in January included a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) guard who maintains the detention center, according to the Rojava Information Center, which estimates that 35 people were killed in the camp throughout 2020 Camp authorities, who struggle to enforce security even around the camp’s perimeter, believe that most of the deaths were the work of Islamic State assassins active within Al-Hol. “The details of the attackers are unknown, most executions take place at night in the victims’ tent or shelter,” said Charles Flynn, researcher at RIC. “Not all murders can be [attributed] to ISIS, as some deaths in the past were related to feuds or disagreements in the camps, ”he added. Among the most dire of recent killings in Al-Hol, an Iraqi elder was publicly beheaded in the camp on 16 January. “The victim’s head has been completely removed,” said Flynn, who reviewed the photos of the incident. Meanwhile, local media reports suggest that the dead guard was part of a security detachment that was shot during an operation by unknown snipers inside the camp on January 8. A second guard was reportedly injured in the attack. The RIC said that local media reports and statements from the SDF formed the basis of its count, which was partially corroborated by the United Nations, which warned of the deteriorating situation in Al-Hol on 16 January after receiving reports of 12 murders since the beginning of the year. “The disturbing events indicate an increasingly unsustainable security environment in Al Hol,” said the UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Imran Riza, and the regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Muhannad Hadi, in a joint statement at the time. Al-Hol is the largest camp for displaced people in Syria, holding almost 62,000 residents in disrepair near the border with Iraq. Women and children make up more than 80% of the rural population, where humanitarian agencies say hunger and disease abound amid a lack of clean water and health. Most of the inhabitants arrived at the camp in early 2020 after fleeing the final fight between SDF and IS fighters supported by the West over the terrorist group’s last piece of territory in the city of Baghouz, on the Euphrates River. In addition to Iraqis and Syrians, there are reportedly 8,705 citizens of third countries in Al-Hol, mainly from former Soviet states in Central Asia. Last year, many Westerners – including high-profile IS supporters, such as the Manchester Halane twins – were moved from Al-Hol to the much smaller Roj camp, where security is stronger and living conditions are better . Deaths in Al-Hol have increased in the past year since IS supporters managed to smuggle firearms into the camp, according to Elizabeth Tsurkov, a non-resident fellow at the Newlines Institute of Strategy and Politics. “SDF’s control over the camp is clearly limited – the smuggling of prohibited people and products, such as weapons, and the smuggling of phones to the foreigners’ annex, remains accelerated,” she said. The Kurdish-led SDF recognizes that it has struggled to limit trafficking and has repeatedly warned of deteriorating conditions, calling on foreign governments to repatriate their citizens. “Efforts are being made to control the camp,” the newspaper said in a January statement calling for greater support from the international community. Since the RIC released its January report, the killings in Al-Hol have continued. On Monday, SDF reported that a 27-year-old Iraqi and a 20-year-old Syrian were the latest victims. “The murders continue in the countryside,” said SDF on Twitter.