SOHR Demands Immediate Solution to ‘Al-Hol Mini-State’ Crisis  

The Syrian Democratic Forces at one of the entrances to al-Hol camp (EPA)
The Syrian Democratic Forces at one of the entrances to al-Hol camp (EPA)
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SOHR Demands Immediate Solution to ‘Al-Hol Mini-State’ Crisis  

The Syrian Democratic Forces at one of the entrances to al-Hol camp (EPA)
The Syrian Democratic Forces at one of the entrances to al-Hol camp (EPA)

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has renewed its appeal to the international community to find an immediate and lasting solution to al-Hol’s crisis and put a serious plan for rehabilitating the camp’s children and women.

The war monitor published a report on its website stating that the successive incidents at the camp, which is located in the far southeast region of al-Hasakah, are now unrefuted evidence of the chaos recently unleashed by ISIS in Syria.

The refugee camp has become more like a “mini-state” hosting ISIS-affiliated members and families, the report stressed, noting that most countries continue to ignore this crisis to avoid repatriating their unwelcome citizens who joined the “notorious” organization.

Chaos and lack of security are prevalent within the camp, turning it into a “ticking bomb” that cannot be ignored. 

SOHR pointed out that no murder crimes were committed by ISIS members in the camp during October 2022. It attributed this improvement in the security situation to the completion of the second phase of the Operation Humanity and Security on Sep. 17.  

The Kurdish Internal Security Forces (Asayish) launched the operation in the overcrowded refugee camp on August 25, in light of the increase in acts of murder and violence. 

Meanwhile, a new batch of Iraqi families left the camp in coordination between the Autonomous Administration and the Iraqi government.  

On Oct.18, 161 Iraqi families, including 659 people, left for Iraq, while the government refused to repatriate more nationals.  

No Syrian families were evacuated from the camp in October, but many foreign children and women were repatriated to their countries. 

On Oct. 20, the Department of Foreign Relations handed over 38 Russian children to the Russian president’s Commission for Child Rights.

This step was made after both parties signed an official document in the presence of al-Hol’s administration in the headquarters of the Autonomous Administration’s Department of Foreign Relations in Qamishli city, north of al-Hasakah. 

It came in light of the coordination between the Department of Foreign Relations in north and east Syria and Russia to repatriate children detained in camps to their countries. 

On October 26, the Department of Foreign Relations handed two Canadian children and two women of ISIS families to a Canadian delegation after signing an official document between both parties. 

Since early 2022, SOHR has documented 28 murders in the camp, which left 30 people dead, eight of whom are Iraqi refugees, including two women, 12 Syrian people, including eight women, eight unidentified women, a medic and an unidentified man. 



Shiny and Deadly, Unexploded Munitions a Threat to Gaza Children

Many casualties are children desperate for something to do or searching through the rubble. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
Many casualties are children desperate for something to do or searching through the rubble. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
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Shiny and Deadly, Unexploded Munitions a Threat to Gaza Children

Many casualties are children desperate for something to do or searching through the rubble. Eyad BABA / AFP/File
Many casualties are children desperate for something to do or searching through the rubble. Eyad BABA / AFP/File

War has left Gaza littered with unexploded bombs that will take years to clear, with children drawn to metal casings maimed or even killed when they try to pick them up, a demining expert said.

Nicholas Orr, a former UK military deminer, told AFP after a mission to the war-battered Palestinian territory that "we're losing two people a day to UXO (unexploded ordnance) at the moment."

According to Orr, most of the casualties are children out of school desperate for something to do, searching through the rubble of bombed-out buildings sometimes for lack of better playthings.

"They're bored, they're running around, they find something curious, they play with it, and that's the end," he said.

Among the victims was 15-year-old Ahmed Azzam, who lost his leg to an explosive left in the rubble as he returned to his home in the southern city of Rafah after months of displacement.

"We were inspecting the remains of our home and there was a suspicious object in the rubble," Azzam told AFP.

"I didn't know it was explosive, but suddenly it detonated," he said, causing "severe wounds to both my legs, which led to the amputation of one of them."

He was one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returning home during a truce that brought short-lived calm to Gaza after more than 15 months of war, before Israel resumed its bombardment and military operations last month.

For Azzam and other children, the return was marred by the dangers of leftover explosives.

'Attractive to kids'

Demining expert Orr, who was in Gaza for charity Handicap International, said that while no one is safe from the threat posed by unexploded munitions, children are especially vulnerable.

Some ordnance is like "gold to look at, so they're quite attractive to kids", he said.

"You pick that up and that detonates. That's you and your family gone, and the rest of your building."

Another common scenario involved people back from displacement, said Orr, giving an example of "a father of a family who's moved back to his home to reclaim his life, and finds that there's UXO in his garden".

"So he tries to help himself and help his family by moving the UXO, and there's an accident."

With fighting ongoing and humanitarian access limited, little data is available, but in January the UN Mine Action Service said that "between five and 10 percent" of weapons fired into Gaza failed to detonate.

It could take 14 years to make the coastal territory safe from unexploded bombs, the UN agency said.

Alexandra Saieh, head of advocacy for Save The Children, said unexploded ordnance is a common sight in the Gaza Strip, where her charity operates.

"When our teams go on field they see UXOs all the time. Gaza is littered with them," she said.

'Numbers game'

For children who lose limbs from blasts, "the situation is catastrophic", said Saieh, because "child amputees require specialized long-term care... that's just not available in Gaza".

In early March, just before the ceasefire collapsed, Israel blocked all aid from entering Gaza. That included prosthetics that could have helped avoid long-term mobility loss, Saieh said.

Unexploded ordnance comes in various forms, Orr said. In Gaza's north, where ground battles raged for months, there are things like "mortars, grenades, and a lot of bullets".

In Rafah, where air strikes were more intense than ground combat, "it's artillery projectiles, it's airdrop projectiles", which can often weigh dozens of kilograms, he added.

Orr said he was unable to obtain permission to conduct bomb disposal in Gaza, as Israeli aerial surveillance could have mistaken him for a militant attempting to repurpose unexploded ordnance into weapons.

He also said that while awareness-raising could help Gazans manage the threat, the message doesn't always travel fast enough.

"People see each other moving it and think, 'Oh, they've done it, I can get away with it,'" Orr said, warning that it was difficult for a layperson to know which bombs might still explode, insisting it was not worth the risk.

"You're just playing against the odds, it's a numbers game."