Tents for Torture, Secret Detention Uncovered in Syria’s al-Hol Camp

Part of the security campaign that as launched on August 25 inside al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Part of the security campaign that as launched on August 25 inside al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Tents for Torture, Secret Detention Uncovered in Syria’s al-Hol Camp

Part of the security campaign that as launched on August 25 inside al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Part of the security campaign that as launched on August 25 inside al-Hol camp. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Kurdish Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and the special female units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have found a tent used by ISIS-linked elements for torture and detention inside al-Hol refugee camp, east of al-Hasakah governorate.

Security forces liberated four women who were chained up to a concrete wall.

This came as part of the second phase of the Operation Humanity and Security, which was launched by Asayish in the overcrowded refugee camp on August 25, in light of the increase in acts of murder and violence.

A video published by the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) Information and Documentation office showed the raid on a tent and how chained up women were liberated by female security forces.

“YPJ forces liberated four women in total in Sunday’s ongoing operation in al-Hol camp,” the YPJ said.

Two of these women said they came from Iraq and showed signs of torture.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, head of the SDF Media Center Farhad Shami said that in coordination with Asayish and the international coalition forces, the SDF launched an investigation to find those involved in torturing and chaining up the displaced women in the camp.

Shami said 23 suspects have been arrested so far, including six women, who operate in ISIS-affiliated cells.

He revealed that seven secret trenches were found under the tents, while the security forces demolished eight sites that were used by ISIS as training centers and courts for imposing executions and torture sentences.

The forces also confiscated quantities of hand grenades, Kalashnikov warehouses, military bags, SIM and memory cards and computers buried underground.

The camp, located 45 km east of al-Hasakah city in northeastern Syria, is considered one of the largest refugee camps in Syria. It houses about 56,000 people, most of whom are displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees.

It also includes a special section for ISIS families, housing 10,000 people from 54 Western and Arab countries.

According to the figures published by Asayish on its official website, more than 100 suspects have been arrested since August 25, and about 110 tents that were used as training centers and courts for imposing executions and torture sentences were demolished.



WFP: Major Food Aid 'Scale-up' Underway to Famine-hit Sudan

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
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WFP: Major Food Aid 'Scale-up' Underway to Famine-hit Sudan

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa

More than 700 trucks are on their way to famine-stricken areas of Sudan as part of a major scale-up after clearance came through from the Sudanese government, a World Food Program spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict since April 2023 that has caused acute hunger and disease across the country. Both sides are accused of impeding aid deliveries, the RSF by looting and the army by bureaucratic delays.
"In total, the trucks will carry about 17,500 tons of food assistance, enough to feed 1.5 million people for one month," WFP Sudan spokesperson Leni Kinzli told a press briefing in Geneva.
"We've received around 700 clearances from the government in Sudan, from the Humanitarian Aid Commission, to start to move and transport assistance to some of these hard-to-reach areas," she added, saying the start of the dry season was another factor enabling the scale-up.
The WFP fleet will be clearly labelled in the hope that access will be facilitated, Reuters quoted her as saying.
Some of the food is intended for 14 areas of the country that face famine or are at risk of famine, including Zamzam camp in the Darfur region.
The first food arrived there on Friday prompting cheers from crowds of people who had resorted to eating crushed peanut shells normally fed to animals, Kinzli said.

A second convoy for the camp is currently about 300 km away, she said.