USAID Cuts, A Gift To ISIS? Perils And Power Inside Syria’s Al-Hol Camp

Updated March 5, 2025 at 6 p.m*.

AL-HOL — It began last month with a decision announced by the new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that all foreign aid, excluding funding for Israel and Egypt, was to be interrupted pending review to see that it was aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The memo also suspended all contracts and grants until decisions are made regarding the continuation, modification or termination of programs based on the review.

While the impact is being felt around the world, one case is of particular concern: in the al-Hol camp, located in northeastern Syria, which has become a symbol in the Middle East of both an ongoing humanitarian crisis and the risk of renewed Islamic radicalization. Initially established to house displaced people during the Syrian Civil War, the camp includes a significant population of captured ISIS fighters and their families.

Most of those sheltered in al-Hol are not connected to ISIS. engineer Shahla Haji, who has worked for an international organization inside the camp, says the aid cut-off from the U.S. has caused a “humanitarian disaster.”

“We have no financial resources other than my job,” Haji says. “It’s clear that very difficult months lie ahead for us.”

Blood and honor

Over the past three years, 20 groups of Iraqis have left the al-Hol camp in the Kurdish region of Syria, the majority of them children and women. Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displaced Persons Karim al-Nouri previously stated to Iraqi news agencies that “individuals with security files and blood on their hands cannot return to Iraq,” referring to Iraqi nationals in the al-Hol camp with a history of radicalization.

This return process has left a mark on the Kurdish community, especially Yazidis who endured an ISIS campaign of attempted genocide, with men being killed and women and children enslaved in Sinjar.

The camp’s situation is bleak and miserable.

“The decision to return is an insult to our blood and our honor. It’s true that the men won’t return, but maybe their women also participated in their cowardly actions,” says Marwan Shasho from Sinjar, referring to the accusation of genocide against a French woman who enslaved a Yazidi child.

Most of the countries whose nationals are imprisoned in the camp have distanced themselves from responsibility for them, while the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) announced in a press conference a few days ago its readiness to arrange the voluntary return of Syrians living in the al-Hol camp to their homes and cities, should they wish to do so following the fall of the Assad regime.

Camp crisis

The issue is that the majority of cities are destroyed, and the infrastructure cannot support the return of such large numbers.

Civil activist Darrar Al-Asad from Deir ez-Zor says that two groups of al-Hol residents had previously been removed through mediation by Arab tribal sheikhs. Unfortunately, they were not integrated, and the social norms did not accept the idea of marrying or living near the family of an ISIS fighter. The problem is exacerbated by the stereotype linking Daesh to everyone living in the camp, and the future problems are many, whether in terms of children’s lineage, education, naturalization, or integration into society.”

The camp’s situation is bleak and miserable, despite all the support provided by humanitarian organizations. “The children of the organization’s families have grown into young people, and they can even have children now. They grew up without education and in total deprivation, while the organization’s eyes are constantly watching them, despite the separation of adults from women to prevent brainwashing by Daesh women within the camp,” says Ruqayyah Hassan from the town of al-Hol.

Several international humanitarian organizations and local associations operate within the camp’s sectors, with activities ranging from relief, protection programs, livelihood support, community cohesion, conflict resolution dialogues, water and sanitation projects, and daily bread and water provision. Most of them are funded primarily by the United States, meaning three sectors and several community segments are directly impacted by the U.S. State Department’s decision.

Humanitarian crisis

The sectors affected are: the workforce, nearly 30,000 workers distributed among organizations operating in the al-Hol camp and throughout northeastern Syria; the camp residents themselves, who depend on these organizations for essential services like bread, water and basic necessities; and the Autonomous Administration, which will often be unable to meet the required needs.

A source within the Autonomous Administration, who requests anonymity, says that the “withdrawal decision will put the administration in a real dilemma to secure those needs and supplies, and will fuel the return of extremism and violence, in addition to losing a large financial block.”

Terrorist cells will exploit this decision to reemerge.

“A tax was imposed on the salaries of international organization employees, ranging from to , and cutting funding for organizations that contribute to funding the needs of Daesh families will create significant problems, especially since many of the camp’s guards are funded by international organizations,” the source says.

Sheikhamous Ahmed, head of the Displaced Persons and Refugees Office in northern and eastern Syria, says that the decision “negatively affects the humanitarian, living, and security situation in the camps, especially al-Hol and Roj, which contain families of ISIS veterans. There will be security gaps that will be exploited by the cells within the camp, in addition to taking advantage of the humanitarian and economic situation.”

“The decision will paralyze the camps supported by organizations that provide them with the required materials and supplies, and consequently, terrorist cells will exploit this decision to reemerge,” he says. “It’s true that other organizations coordinated with the Autonomous Administration and are trying to fill the gaps and voids caused by the decision, but it’s clear that the next three months will witness major challenges for organizations and the Autonomous Administration in meeting daily and monthly needs.”

Uncertain future

Kurdish researcher Bara’a Sabri says that “Those working in humanitarian aid are very worried about the halt in U.S. funding, which could lead to their long-term stoppage. These are already fragile regions suffering from economic and social deterioration due to years of war, sanctions, and administrative failure.”

Sabri adds that: “Of course, groups that thrive on chaos, poverty, and political, cultural, and social collapse will benefit from this situation, and they will revive from the stagnation caused by activities aimed at alleviating crises and promoting growth.”

Droush Droush (a pseudonym), head of the Dialogue Session Facilitation Department in community cohesion projects, capacity building and livelihoods in an organization operating in the al-Hol camp, fears losing his job if these organizations return.

“The organizations have provided everything to the region. Without them, the Autonomous Administration wouldn’t have been able to do anything for the displaced people in al-Hol and elsewhere,” Droush says. “But can we say that the organizations have established a phase of stability or self-reliance for the locals in the event of a stoppage of their work? The answer is certainly no. The biggest disaster is that the organization’s name is tied to the food basket. The organizations failed to create a civic and foundational mindset or thinking about work and volunteering.”

Tough days are ahead for the region.

Those interviewed by Daraj who had worked in U.S.-funded humanitarian organizations attributed the recent decision to three main factors. First is massive corruption within the organizations, which was believed to lead to the removal of corrupt figures if the organizations were to return to work.

Second, although the organizations provided substantial support, they remained within the emergency and temporary aid framework and failed to encourage beneficiaries to transition from consumption to production and work, despite thousands of capacity-building workshops and funding for small and medium-sized projects. And finally, they pointed to the erroneous context presented by some of the researchers working within these organizations.

Clearly, tough days are ahead for the region, with its fragile security situation and poor economy, and it is heading into an uncertain future economically and with an increase in the risks of extremism and violence.

*Originally published Feb. 9, 2025, this article was updated March 5, 2025 with enriched media.