According to the International Broadcasting Channel, Al Jazeera, armoured vehicles carrying Syrian troops moved into the sprawling camp, located in Hasakeh province, on Wednesday, a day after the government announced a four-day ceasefire with the SDF. The handover follows nearly two weeks of clashes between the Syrian army and Kurdish fighters, which ended with a truce late Tuesday.

Al-Hol camp houses around 24,000 people, most of them women and children linked to the militant group ISIL (ISIS). The SDF had overseen the camp since the defeat of ISIL in 2019, playing a key role in the fight against the group with support from a US-led international coalition.

Recent fighting has seen the SDF lose control of large areas in northern and eastern Syria. Kurdish forces had governed much of the region during the country’s prolonged civil war, which formally ended in December 2024 with the collapse of former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The Damascus government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has been pressing for Kurdish fighters to be integrated into state institutions under a deal signed with the SDF in March 2025.

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said on Tuesday that the SDF’s role as the primary anti-ISIL force had “largely expired,” adding that the Syrian government was now willing and capable of assuming security responsibilities.

Despite the ceasefire, tensions remain high. Al Jazeera reported renewed clashes on the outskirts of Kobani on Wednesday, with sounds of gunfire and anti-aircraft fire heard in the area.

Syria’s Defence Ministry said seven soldiers were killed in a drone attack in the Hasakeh countryside, blaming the SDF for the assault. According to state-run news agency SANA, the attack occurred as government forces attempted to clear a site previously used to manufacture explosives and drone munitions. Twenty other soldiers were wounded in the incident.

Al-Hol is the largest camp holding people associated with ISIL. It contains about 14,500 Syrians, nearly 3,000 Iraqis, and around 6,500 foreign nationals, many of whom are described as hardline ISIL supporters, housed in a high-security section.

Earlier this week, President al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi agreed that the Syrian state would assume responsibility for ISIL detainees. Abdi has urged the US-led coalition to continue supporting the protection of detention facilities.

The SDF still controls most of the prisons holding ISIL fighters, including the Gweiran Prison in Hasakeh city, which houses around 4,500 detainees.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that 120 ISIL members escaped from Shaddadi prison in Hasakeh province. The army accused the SDF of releasing the prisoners, while Kurdish officials claimed they lost control of the facility after an attack by government forces.

State media later reported that many of the escapees were recaptured after Syrian troops regained control of the prison.