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REPORTAGE. Tens of thousands of refugees from dozens of countries are crammed into this huge camp where the influence of the Islamic State remains strong.
From our special correspondent in Al Hol (Syria), Guillaume Perrier
Published on
DIn front of a large map pinned to the wall of her office, Ciyan Hannan, the director of Al-Hol refugee camp in northeast Syria, is enjoying a lull. “It has been several days since there has been an assassination. But without wanting to exaggerate, the situation is very unstable, ”says this Syrian Kurd.
It shows the rows of tents where families of Islamic State (Daesh) jihadists have been crammed together for years, mixed with others displaced by the conflicts that have ravaged neighboring Syria and Iraq. Eight heavily guarded fenced sections stretch south and west, bordering the small town of Al-Hol.
The camp, where exactly 53,090 people are counted, is teeming with people, with its markets, its hospitals, its sports ground, its clusters of children…