politics
January 26, 2026
‘Utterly Stateless’: Inside a detention camp for ISIS-linked women and children amid escalating uncertainty in Syria
We stepped out of the bitter cold, through a plastic flap that passed for a door into darkness.
TL;DR
- Al-Roj camp in northeastern Syria holds over 2,000 foreign women and children associated with ISIS.
- Detainees express a desire to return to their home countries and live normal lives, rejecting their former ISIS affiliations.
- Geopolitical changes in Syria, including the Syrian government's advance and US policy shifts, are impacting the Kurdish-led SDF's control.
- There are concerns about the security of detention facilities, with recent reports of ISIS prisoner escapes and celebrations by committed ISIS women.
- Many Western countries are unwilling to repatriate their nationals detained in Syria.