ALHOL CAMP, SYRIA
\nSyria\u2019s army on Wednesday entered the vast Al-Hol camp that houses relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists after Kurdish forces withdrew from the site, said an media journalist at the scene.
\nThe government announced a new ceasefire with the Kurds on Tuesday after taking swathes of north and east Syria that had long been under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
\nThe United States, which has long headed an international coalition and backed the Kurds against IS, said the purpose of its alliance with the SDF had largely ended years after they defeated the jihadists.
\nNow, the United States was backing Syria\u2019s new Islamist authorities who are seeking to extend their control across the country after years of civil war.
\nThousands of former jihadists, including many Westerners, have been held in seven Kurdish-run prisons in north and east Syria, while tens of thousands of their suspected family members live in the Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps.
\nAt Al-Hol, the media correspondent saw soldiers open the camp\u2019s metal gate and enter, while others stood guard. The camp in a desert region of Hasakeh province holds around 24,000 people, including some 6,200 women and children from around 40 nationalities.
\nThe defence ministry said Tuesday it was ready to take responsibility for Al-Hol camp \u201cand all IS prisoners\u201d after Kurdish forces said they had been \u201ccompelled to withdraw\u201d from the site to defend cities in Syria\u2019s north, before the truce was announced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ALHOL CAMP, SYRIA Syria\u2019s army on Wednesday entered the vast Al-Hol camp that houses relatives of suspected Islamic State jihadists after Kurdish forces withdrew from the site, said an media journalist at the scene. The government announced a new ceasefire with the Kurds on Tuesday after taking swathes of north and east Syria that had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-526967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n