QAMISHLI, Syria: Syrian Kurdish forces said Wednesday they thwarted an escape attempt by more than 50 inmates of Al-Hol camp, which holds people suspected of ties to the Daesh group.
Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria have run camps hosting thousands of suspected militants and their families since the militant group lost its last territory in Syria six years ago.
Kurdish security forces said they thwarted a “mass escape attempt” from the Al-Hol camp by several Daesh families on Tuesday “numbering 56 individuals.”
They added that the detainees attempted to escape “using a large vehicle.”
Kurdish security forces detected “suspicious activity yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, when a group of people were seen boarding a vehicle in an abnormal manner,” they said in a statement.
The troops “stopped the vehicle as it attempted to pass through the main gate, arresting all those inside.”
Al-Hol houses approximately 27,000 people, including some 15,000 Syrians and about 6,300 foreign women and children from 42 nationalities, in addition to some 5,000 Iraqis, camp director Jihan Hanan told AFP in August.
Since Daesh’s defeat, the Kurdish-run administration has repeatedly called on foreign governments to repatriate their nationals.
Despite repeated warnings from international organizations of the dire conditions in the camps, many Western governments have refused to repatriate their citizens.
Neighbouring Iraq, however, has repatriated around 17,000 people, mostly women and children.
In February, Kurdish official Sheikhmous Ahmed said the administration aimed to empty the camps of Iraqis and displaced Syrians by the end of the year.
Syria Kurds say they thwarted escape bid from camp for Daesh families
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Syria Kurds say they thwarted escape bid from camp for Daesh families
- Kurdish security forces said they thwarted a “mass escape attempt” from the Al-Hol camp by several Daesh families
- The detainees attempted to escape “using a large vehicle“
Israeli strike in Lebanon kills alleged arms smugglers
- The pair were from the town of Shebaa and hit while driving on a road on the slopes of Mount Hermon
- “The terrorists were involved in smuggling weapons used by Hezbollah,” the Israeli military said
BEIRUT: An Israeli drone strike killed two Lebanese brothers in their car Saturday, according to Lebanon’s news agency, as Israel said it had hit arms smugglers from a group affiliated to Hezbollah.
The National News Agency report said the pair were from the town of Shebaa and hit while driving on a road on the slopes of Mount Hermon in southeastern Lebanon, “causing their SUV to catch fire and resulting in their deaths.”
The Israeli military confirmed that they had conducted a strike near Shebaa and killed two smugglers from the “Lebanese Resistance Brigades,” a group allied to the militant organization Hezbollah.
“The terrorists were involved in smuggling weapons used by Hezbollah and their activities constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the Israeli military said.
“The IDF (military) will continue to operate in order to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel,” it warned.
Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed the death toll.
A similar Israeli strike on Saturday morning on a car near a hospital in the southern city of Bint Jbeil wounded seven people, according to the ministry.
The latest strikes came as the European Union added its voice to international concern over Israel’s continued strikes despite its year-old ceasefire with Lebanon.
“Focus by all parties must be on preserving the ceasefire and the progress achieved so far,” the European Commission’s foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.
Israel argues that Lebanon is acting too slowly to disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia and insists it has the right to carry out operations to protect its border and citizens from attack.
On Thursday it announced a series of strikes in southern Lebanon in advance, and urged civilians to evacuate the targeted areas.
