United Nations agencies have taken over the management of vast detention camps in northeastern Syria housing tens of thousands of people associated with Islamic State (IS), after Kurdish-led forces guarding the sites withdrew amid clashes with Syrian government troops.

The move comes after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew this week from camps and prisons in northeastern Syria amid fighting with Syrian government forces, raising alarm over security and humanitarian conditions.

More than 10,000 IS fighters and tens of thousands of women and children associated with the group have been held for years in around a dozen prisons and camps across the region. The most prominent of these is al-Hol camp, which, together with the smaller Roj camp, houses around 28,000 civilians, mostly women and children from Syria, Iraq and more than 8,500 nationals of other countries.

The United Nations said the SDF withdrew from al-Hol on 20 January, prompting UN agencies to step in. Syrian government forces have since established a security perimeter around the camp.

Teams from the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the UN children’s agency UNICEF reached al-Hol on 21 January, officials said.

“UNHCR — which has taken over camp management responsibilities - is actively coordinating with the Syrian government to urgently resume the safe delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance,” said Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), speaking at the UN Security Council.

However, UN officials said access remains limited due to insecurity.

“Our colleagues tell us that the situation in the camp remains rather tense and volatile, with reports of looting and burning,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. “As a result, it was not possible for them to enter the camp itself.”

Iraq accepts detainees, urges burden-sharing

As the situation in Syria deteriorated, the United States began transferring detainees out of the country. The U.S. military said it had moved 150 detainees from Syria to Iraq on Tuesday, part of an operation that could eventually involve up to 7,000 detainees.

Iraq confirmed it had received the first group and said detainees would be prosecuted under its criminal justice system.

Iraq’s Deputy UN Ambassador Mohammed Sahib Mejid Marzooq told the Security Council that Baghdad was acting to protect regional and international security, but warned that Iraq should not be left to shoulder the burden alone.

“This is a measure aimed at protecting regional and international security from an imminent threat,” he said. “But this issue should not be left to become a long-term strategic burden on Iraq alone.”

Marzooq criticised countries that refuse to repatriate their nationals linked to IS.

“The insistence of some states on considering their terrorist nationals a threat to their national security and the refusal to repatriate them is unacceptable,” he added.

Syria welcomes U.S. transfers

Syria’s UN Ambassador Ibrahim Olabi said Damascus welcomed the U.S. operation to remove IS detainees from Syrian territory.

“The Syrian government welcomes the American operation to transfer ISIS detainees out of Syrian territory and affirms its readiness to provide the necessary logistical and security support to ensure its success,” Olabi told the Security Council.

Security concerns persist

U.S. officials said around 200 low-level IS fighters escaped from Shaddadi prison during the upheaval, although Syrian government forces later recaptured many of them.

Iraqi officials said detainees transferred from Syria include senior IS figures, both Iraqi and foreign nationals. Iraqi courts will take “due legal measures” once detainees are placed in specialised correctional facilities.

Officials said high-ranking detainees, including foreigners, would be held at a high-security facility near Baghdad airport, previously used by U.S. forces.

International reluctance remains

Two Iraqi legal sources said detainees include nationals from Britain, Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden, alongside fighters from Iraq and other Arab countries.

The transfers have caused concern among relatives of IS detainees in Europe, where governments have largely resisted repatriating their citizens from Syria.

Islamic State emerged in Iraq and Syria and, at its peak between 2014 and 2017, controlled large swathes of both countries before its self-declared “caliphate” collapsed under military campaigns by regional forces and a U.S.-led coalition.

As UN agencies stabilise the camps, diplomats warn that the long-running question of responsibility for IS detainees - particularly foreign nationals - has become more urgent than ever.

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