The General Command of Internal Security Forces in North and East Syria Region announced the initiation of the third phase of Operation Humanity and Security in the Hol (al-Hol) camp to pursuing ISIS terrorist cells, eliminating their strongholds, and capturing individuals and collaborators involved in terrorist activities, attacks and spreading extremist ideologies, especially among children.

According to the statement made in the camp on Saturday, the operation is also participated by the Women’s Defense Units (YPJ) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by the international coalition against ISIS.

The statement, read in Arabic by Alî Hesen, one of the commanders of the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria, and in Kurdish by YPJ Press Spokesperson Rûken Cemal, includes the following:

“Over the past years, the Autonomous Administration and its security and military forces have shouldered the full responsibility of mitigating the escalating terrorist threat and curbing the brutality of ISIS terrorist acts targeting the IDPs of the al-Hol camp. Despite the scant international attention and the insufficient commitment to address this issue and its escalated risk.

Over the past period, ISIS has increased its terrorist activities and cells within the camp, taking advantage of the dire humanitarian conditions and the preoccupation of our military and security forces in confronting the attacks of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries and the attacks of the Syrian regime-backed mercenaries. ISIS has carried out numerous criminal and terrorist acts, including intimidation, killings, exerting pressure on residents, burning humanitarian aid, and obstructing its safe delivery into the camp, including essential medical supplies. Furthermore, creating an environment for terrorist cells by increasing recruitment targeting children, and imbuing them with extremist ideology using the women affiliated with ISIS who have played a direct and systematic role in attempts to revive and re-establish the terrorist organization. Additionally, they have been involved in planning escapes and creating chaos within the camp to hinder the security forces’ ability to control the situation.

According to the confessions of numerous captured ISIS operatives over the past period, it has been revealed that ISIS has devised a scheme, under the direct instructions of its leader, to launch an attack on the camp from outside in coordination with the movements of its cells inside. Al-Hol camp continues to be the primary target of ISIS, prominently featured in its propaganda materials disseminated across its various publications and media platforms.

In response to the escalating threat and in alignment with our unwavering commitment to moral and humanitarian principles, the Internal Security Forces of the North and East Syria Region, along with the Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the international coalition against ISIS, hereby declare the initiation of the third phase of Operation Humanity and Security in the al-Hol camp to pursuing ISIS terrorist cells, eliminating their strongholds, and capturing individuals and collaborators involved in terrorist activities, attacks and spreading extremist ideologies, especially among children.

Our forces, distinguished by their competence and discipline in the prolonged battle against terrorism and marked by their significant sacrifices, emphatically reiterate their unwavering commitment to the principles delineated in human rights laws and charters. This commitment extends particularly to the regulations governing the approach to the security environment, within which terrorist cells conceal themselves and exploit to carry out their terrorist operations, notably within the al-Hol camp. Our forces are poised to execute both immediate and long-term security operations and measures to eliminate the terrorist threat to the region and its people.”