Attacks, Escapes and Withdrawals: A timeline of events at al-Hol camp on January 20

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Key Takeaways:

  • Foreigners’ Annex breached during government assault on al-Hol; unknown number of fugutives
  • Attack began with revolt of local al-Hol residents, but assaulting force from southwest included well-prepared men driving HTS-linked cars; likely coordinated
  • SDF/Asayish compelled to withdraw due to two-pronged attack & threat of mass revolt at camp
  • Despite STG claims, no evidence of SDF releasing detainees

Timeline of events, January 20

  • 12 PM

    STG troops 24 minutes west from al-Hol camp

  • 12:30 PM

    First evidence of tribal uprising in al-Hol town, attack on Asayish; SDF withdraw from al-Hol towards Hassakeh

    12:30 PM

  • 2:30-3 PM

    Shots heard from Foreigners’ Annex

  • 3-3:30 PM

    First evidence of STG troops arriving to Western Gate

    3-3:30 PM

  • 3:26 PM

    “Damascus forces attacking Hol camp now”

  • 3:30 PM

    First evidence of Foreigners’ Annex breach

    3:30 PM

  • 4:15-4:30 PM

    More Damascus-related troops arrive at Western breach, welcomed as liberators

  • 4:41 PM

    SDF clashing with “Damascus-affiliated factions” around al-Hol

    4:41 PM

  • 4:51 PM

    Ferhat Shami says SDF withdrew

  • 5:29 PM

    STG at Western Gate

    5:29 PM

RIC annotated map of al-Hol camp viewed from the west

Introduction

On January 20 during the Syrian Transitional Government’s (STG) rapid invasion of the land east of the Euphrates river controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, the Internal Security Forces responsible for al-Hol camp were forced to withdraw. Al-Hol camp is home to around 25,000 ISIS-linked foreign nationals and individuals from Syria, often the wives of ISIS fighters and their children.

Amid the chaos of invasion and misinformation that characterises modern war, many different narratives, videos and stories about the withdrawal and escapes from al-Hol appeared online. This investigation by Rojava Information Center conducted using open source material from January 20 and an interview with al-Hol Camp Director Jihan Hanna aims to clarify what happened on the ground that day and produce a timeline of events.

Al-Hol Camp

First opened in 1991, al-Hol camp lies south of the town of al-Hol, in East Syria, close to the Syria-Iraq border. The main road connecting the camp to the outside world passes through the town and thereon west to Heseke or east to Yaroubiyeh. An Asayish checkpoint is located north of al-Hol town and another south before the camp perimeter. The town itself houses an Asayish building, with another one located inside the camp, close to the main gate. Two smaller roads connect the camp to the region south and west of it, both also controlled by Asayish checkpoints. The camp’s Main Gate is located on the eastern side; most NGO offices are also located close to this gate. Until recently, the camp housed Syrians at the front of the camp and in an extension south of it (green). The central, northern and western sections of the camp housed Iraqis (blue). Due to increased repatriations in recent years, many Iraqis have left the camp. Jihan Hanna, the camp’s director, told RIC that Syrian detainees were spread across the camp since the Iraqis’ departure. As a result, the central area of al-Hol is now largely empty. Finally, a foreigners’ annex (red) is located in the southeastern part of the camp, separate from the rest. 

Map of al-Hol viewed from above

Evidence of STG attack on al-Hol

The attack on al-Hol camp began on January 20. However, according to Hanna, the area had become dangerous the day before due to increased attacks on checkpoints in the area. Online, a video said to be (Video 1) of STG forces in the al-Hol area was shared on January 19, though RIC could not pinpoint the exact location. The convoy of around 30 cars included at least two armoured vehicles and two Toyota Hilux cars carrying motorcycles on their flatbeds. 

Video 1:

The convoy seen in Video 1 seemingly includes STG soldiers, as a new STG patch is clearly visible on a uniformed man. At least one of the cars, a Toyota Hilux, has a new government license plate, rather than a DAANES license plate, indicating it came from across the Euphrates. Next to the Hilux, another pickup truck is visible with a license plate whose format matches that of the old Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) enclave in Idlib. The city of provenance, as indicated by the plate, though only partially visible, is likely Idlib (ادلب). Again, the vehicle is not local and seems to have a close connection to HTS’ former enclave.

By 12 PM on January 20, STG forces had reportedly taken the al-Hol oil fields (located at 36.35509, 40.91056), a 24-minute drive from the camp’s West Gate. A convoy of cars can be seen (Video 2) turning right onto the road towards al-Hol. Here, too, two armoured vehicles and two Toyota Hilux cars carrying what could be motorcycles appear to lead the caravan of at least 12 vehicles. 11 other vehicles are shown idle behind the convoy. 

Video 2:

On Tuesday, January 20, Hanna attempted to reach the camp but was unable to. When she spoke to people at the camp, an attack on the camp was underway, including the burning of camp offices and the offices of the Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC). 

The first confirmed evidence of clashes in al-Hol occurs at around 2:30 PM, when men in al-Hol town (at least one of them armed with a Kalashnikov rifle) were filmed (Video 3) on the main road (at this location: 36.38824, 41.149) shouting takbir (Allahu Akbar) slogans and running in a northward direction (away from the camp). Another video (Video 4) captures men shooting down the street (at this location: 36.38939, 41.15047), not far from where the first video was taken. The footage seems to have been taken around the same time and shows the men shooting at what appears to be the town’s Asayish headquarters.

Video 3:

Video 4:

The location of Videos 3 and 4

According to Hanna, “What happened is that locals, the tribes in the town of Hol, next to the camp, rose up and surrounded the Asayish there. Some of the Asayish at Hol Camp had to go to their aid, and the camp residents saw there were gaps [in security] and seized their opportunity. There are 23,000 camp residents: if 1,000 people work together as one, they can’t be withstood. And if the SDF had opened fire on them, this would of course have created a catastrophe. So the SDF were forced to withdraw, and there was a pause until the [STG] forces arrived and took it over. There were many cases of escapes then, a lot of locals and people there informed us, there were videos, too.” The director told RIC that, “clashes remained in the vicinity of the camp and didn’t reach the gates or cross into the camp.”

According to Hanna, “When the Asayish and SDF withdrew, the Kurdish Red Crescent were still in the camp. When those who protected their offices withdrew, they also withdrew, because they were scared. The first office that was burned was the KRC office, and then our camp administration office. If they were there, they would have been killed, so it’s good they left.”

A video (Video 5) filmed from a house in Abu Hajirat Khoutana (location: 36.4059, 41.11164), a nearby village some 3.8km from al-Hol town and 4.8km from the camp’s Main Gate, shows a convoy, presumably, as the man recording the video indicates, of withdrawing SDF forces. At least 19 vehicles are visible in the footage. The convoy passes west to east on the main road towards Heseke, indicating a northward withdrawal from al-Hol town. It is taken around 2:30 PM, roughly at the same time as, or very shortly after, Asayish forces were battling a tribal uprising inside the town (as seen in Videos 3 & 4). The author of Video 5 furthermore claims that the SDF had set fire to their positions and offices in the camp before withdrawing. The claim, unverified and unlikely, nevertheless indicates that a fire or smoke from al-Hol is visible at this time.

Video 5:

Map of al-Hol countryside showing direction of STG and SDF movements on January 20

Furthermore, RIC believes this video (Video 6) was taken from the Foreigners’ Annex by one of its residents (likely from this vantage point: 36.37255, 41.15021). In the video, distant shots ring out, indicating the presence of Asayish/SDF around the camp and/or the town. A single closer shot is heard at the end of the video. We estimate the video was taken between 2:30 PM and 3 PM. 

Video 6:

Escapes from al-Hol

Breaches in the camp perimeter likely occurred around or soon after Video 6. “The SDF soldiers left as government forces were approaching,” Yahya, an 18-year-old living in the camp, told Middle East Eye, “we jumped over the fence.”

“We don’t know how many escaped,” Hanna told RIC, “According to the images, video and information we received, they escaped from the general section of the camp. No one can get out of the foreigner’s annex, as everyone knows. Those men who are seen breaking out of the gate of the camp are at the very front of the camp. No one could have stopped them. They were mostly Syrians. The camp population is now mostly Syrians and foreigners. The Iraqis are very few in number; most wanted to return to Iraq.”

Yet a breach of the fence at the foreigner’s annex was filmed at around 3:30 PM – when Asayish had likely already pulled north to al-Hol town – at 36.3726, 41.15286. The foreigner’s annex is home to around 6400 foreign nationals, mostly women and children, linked to ISIS according to  USAID in 2024. In the video (Video 7), a man can be heard telling annex detainees, “Come on, brothers, come on. Who wants to go? It’s a chance, a chance. Whoever wants to come, this is your opportunity. Hurry up. We’ll take you wherever you want.” When asked by a boy inside the camp whether they have guns, the man responds that they are armed. It is unclear to what faction the man belongs to, though, at the same time (3:26 PM), journalist Wladimir van Wilgenburg tweets, “Damascus forces attacking Hol camp now.” On January 21, a Syrian state security source cited by Al-Jazeera confirmed that foreigners had escaped from the camp. According to the unidentified source, eleven foreign women and their children were returned to the camp. It is unclear how many escaped overall. The source claims, without proof, that the SDF encouraged them to escape.

Video 7:

Location of the breach at the Foreigner’s Annex

Van Wilgenburg later shared a third-party video (Video 8) captioned “Families escaping from al-Hol camp,” taken from a vantage point south of the camp (around 36.37144, 41.13794) between 3 and 3:30 PM, though it is unclear what the video is showing.

A video (Video 9) released by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows what seems to be government troops at the western end of the camp, at a different breach, between 3 and 3:30 PM. The plume of smoke at the NGO offices, by the Main Gate, is visible in the background. 

Video 8:

Video 9:

A still from video 9

The second breach of the camp fence happened at the west end, in what used to house Iraqi nationals. A video (Video 10) recorded between the West Gate (36.37355, 41.12355) and the fence breach (36.37386, 41.12818) shows armed men arriving from the west at around 4:15-4:30 PM. It is unclear whether these belong to the STG, but the direction of their arrival indicates they likely constitute a force independent of the tribal uprising in al-Hol town, which would have approached from the north. The trucks are furthermore transporting motorcycles, like the convoy seen in Video 1, indicating they did not arrive from al-Hol town, located less than 2km from the camp. 

Video 10:

Location of the breach on the Western side of al-Hol camp

The men filming themselves arriving at the camp mentioned above pass a (now seemingly abandoned) Asayish checkpoint at the West Gate of al-Hol camp. They can be heard chanting takbir (Allahu Akbar) to cheering camp detainees, who seem to welcome the men as liberators. At the end of Video 10, the breach in the fence is already visible, and a crowd has gathered outside the camp. The same breach can be seen here:

A still from the end of Video 10

Map showing the movement of the car in Video 10

Video 9, released later that evening by SANA, shows that the camp fence was brought down from the inside out. It suggests that either camp detainees themselves collapsed the fence or that it was torn down from the outside, possibly with the aid of a vehicle. Either explanation makes an accusation of SDF and/or Asayish involvement extremely unlikely. 

The breach on the western side of al-Hol camp shown in Video 9

Confusingly, shortly after 4 PM, DAANES Executive Council co-chair Elham Ahmed told reporters that al-Hol was still under SDF control. At 4:41 PM, the SDF said they were still clashing with “Damascus-affiliated factions” in the vicinity of al-Hol, though not the camp or the town of al-Hol. At 5:10 PM, SDF spokesman Farhad Shami tweets:

“Due to the international indifference toward the issue of the ISIS terrorist organization and the failure of the international community to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter, our forces were compelled to withdraw from Al-Hol Camp and redeploy in the vicinity of cities in northern Syria that are facing increasing risks and threats.”

Five minutes later, at 5:15 PM, Syria’s Ministry of Interior tweets:

“Following the recent agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF, the SDF released a number of ISIS prisoners and their families from prisons. Today, its members tasked with guarding the al-Hol camp east of al-Hasakah withdrew without any coordination with the Syrian government or the International Coalition. In a move aimed at pressuring the government on the issue of combating terrorism. The Ministry of Interior is closely monitoring the situation and taking all necessary measures in coordination and cooperation with the International Coalition to maintain security and stability and prevent any attempts to threaten public safety.”

By dusk (5:29 PM), STG forces were firmly in control of the western part of the camp, according to the same SANA video (the Main Gate on the eastern edge is not shown). The following two clips seem to have been taken around dusk (5:29-5:56 PM) and show STG forces at the western breach and the West Gate. At 6 PM, al-Monitor quoted a US military official saying that reports that the SDF have abandoned the al-Hol ISIS detainee camp were “not accurate.”

The breach on the western side of al-Hol camp shown in Video 9 from another angle

STG forces at the West gate shown in video 9

The STG’s 54th Division is also photographed standing guard on the southern edge of the camp (36.37271, 41.13774) at dusk (around 6 PM).

The government’s Internal security are later pictured standing at the Main Gate (36.37532, 41.15157) at night and the next morning.

Video 11 from Anadolu Agency records government security forces reinforcements entering the West Gate mid-morning of January 21.

Conclusion

The evidence presented in this report suggests the attack on al-Hol occurred in stages: first, in the town of al-Hol, local tribes attacked DAANES security forces; second, at least some detainees within the camp made use of the situation to ransack the camp’s and NGO’s offices; third, a Damascus-linked force arriving from the west took control of the camp before sundown.

A premeditated effort to release detainees and/or burn its offices by Asayish or SDF forces, as some commentators have argued, seems extremely unlikely and contrary to their interests. Instead, a much more likely explanation is that an attack in the town of al-Hol forced camp security to aid Asayish forces in the town, giving detainees the chance to escape. As the Syrian army and/or Damascus-affiliated forces arrived from the west, Asayish and SDF withdrew to protect their forces. 

It is also not true that STG responded to a planned pull-back by SDF and Asayish. Instead, given the quick succession of the uprising inside al-Hol town, which forced DAANES-linked security personnel away from the camp, and the arrival of STG forces and/or shock troops closely aligned with Damascus, who, as seen in Video 2, were on their way towards the camp before the first recorded shots in the town, it is likely that at least some coordination and/or communication between both factions occurred. 

The identity of the armed men who recorded themselves freeing and/or freely mingling with escaped ISIS detainees cannot be properly established. However, in the case of Video 9, it seems apparent that they were part of a convoy which travelled together with STG forces, whether they were formerly part of the army or not. Similar vehicles and armed personnel seem to have followed the army advance from west of the Euphrates. One of the vehicles (in Video 1) seems to be connected to HTS’ former territory in Idlib.

Furthermore, the established timeline of events does not bear out the theory that large gaps between SDF control over the camp and the STG arrival allowed ISIS detainees to escape. As estimated by RIC, the first recorded SDF withdrawal occurred around 2:30 PM, though fighting around al-Hol camp was still heard between 2:30 and 3 PM. Around the same time, the first evidence of breaches in the camp perimeter is recorded. Shortly thereafter, between 3 and 3:30 PM, the first Damascus-affiliated forces are seen arriving at the West Gate. If escapes occurred – as both security officials and international media suggest they did – these seem to have occurred under STG watch and/or as a result of their assault on the camp.

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