Deadly clashes erupt in Al-Hol refugee camp in Syria

Three people, including a child, were killed and 10 others wounded at a refugee camp in northern Syria, when armed clashes erupted between YPG/PKK and suspected Daesh terrorists, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to local sources, YPG — the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group — dispatched several members late at night and attempted to enter the Al-Hol camp of the Hasakah province, leading to an armed conflict with suspected Daesh affiliates.

Many tents in the camp suffered heavy damages.

While the clashes have halted, the situation remains tense.

The YPG/PKK holds hostage, at the camp, Daesh members, their relatives as well as civilians fleeing violence.

The civilians held at the camp, established in 2017, struggle to survive in inhumane conditions.

Unhygienic sinks, shower cabins, expired food, torn tents and lack of access to medicines and health care are some of the major problems haunting the residents.

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The UN and several non-governmental organisations have frequently warned that the humanitarian situation at the camp is getting worse, and asked for access to the centres where Daesh militants are kept.

According to the UN, the camp has a capacity of 10,000 people; however, up to eight times more people are held there, with the majority being women and children.

Moreover, there are reportedly thousands of foreign, Syrian and Iraqi terrorists at the camp.

The Syrian civil war began in March 2011, when the Bashar Al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters. According to UN estimates, hundreds of thousands of people have since been killed, and millions more displaced.