Syria's prison system holding 60,000 ISIL detainees faces collapse as SDF withdraws, risking mass escapes and regional crisis.

Damascus

Recent fighting around two major prisons in Syria has highlighted the ongoing challenges of managing thousands of ISIL detainees. As Kurdish-led SDF forces withdrew from long-held areas, Syrian government troops moved in, leading to deadly clashes and conflicting accusations over the handling of prisoners. 

The majority of ISIL detainees, including foreign nationals and families, are held in overcrowded camps and prisons not designed for long-term detention. Rights groups warn that poor conditions and internal ISIL hierarchies make these facilities breeding grounds for extremism, while recent instability and thinning security forces have increased the risk of escapes and renewed violence in the region.

What is happening at Syria’s ISIL prisons and why it matters

Fighting around two prisons holding thousands of ISIL detainees has once again exposed one of Syria's most dangerous unresolved legacies. Dozens have been killed during rapid territorial takeovers as the Kurdish-led SDF withdrew from areas it has controlled for years. As Syrian government forces moved in, almost immediately accusations followed. Damascus says the SDF released ISIL detainees. The SDF says Syrian troops attacked prisons in Hasakah and Raqqa. At its height, ISIL controlled vast stretches of Iraq and Syria. A decade on, many of its fighters are either dead or detained, but the group is far from gone. Sleeper cells still operate across the deserts, linking both countries. Most of the detainees are in Syria, which at their highest was about 60,000 people, fighters and their families. Today the largest concentration remains at al-Hol camp, holding around 40,000 people, mostly women and children, including thousands of foreign nationals. Nearby Rojkamp holds just over 2,000, reportedly among them British national Shemima Begum. In Hasakah, nearly 5,000 male suspects are held at the Panorama prison, among them the most hardened ISIL fighters. A similar number are detained at al-Sinaz prison, where teenagers reaching adulthood are separated from families and transferred into the prison system. Shaddadi is another key site where recent clashes reportedly led to escapes. With no official numbers, this too is home to thousands of suspected fighters. Beyond the main prisons, the SDF operates dozens of smaller facilities across Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, former schools and warehouses, believed to hold up to 12,000 additional suspects. Since 2019, prison security has been managed by the SDF's internal security force, the Asaish, trained and supported by the US-led coalition. These sites were never designed for long-term mass detention. Combine that with overcrowding, lack of due process, minimal access to lawyers and medical care, these sites are considered incubators for extreme ideologies, not rehabilitation. Rights groups report internal ISIL hierarchies still operate behind bars. That's where the system is structurally fragile. Human Rights Watch says around 18,000 detainees are foreign nationals from more than 60 countries, with roughly 24,000 are Syrian and Iraqis. That's despite Iraq repatriating more than 25,000 of its citizens. Most Western countries still refuse to take back adult male fighters. Now troops are being deployed to front lines and the SDF is appealing for more to join as its territory shrinks and control collapses. US prison guard units are thinning the SDF warrants of escape risks, while local media reports a rise in ISIL sleeper cell attacks. This is a decisive test for Syria's new rulers. How these prisons are secured, transferred or mishandled could determine whether ISIL remains contained or finds the cracks in a fragile security system. Experts warn for Syria, Iraq, Turkey and the wider region, this crisis remains one prison break away from catastrophe. As-salāmu alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said the European Union should not bend to 'the law of the strongest.' He told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that it was staggering that the EU was having to contemplate using its 'anti-coercion instrument' against the U.S. (Macron is wearing dark glasses because of an eye condition.)

Paris

France's Macron says EU shouldn't bend to 'law of the strongest'

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Washington

Trump publishes Macron's message, threatens French wine tariffs

The death toll from Sunday's high-speed train collision in Spain has risen to 41 as recovery crews use cranes to lift up the train cars and look for victims underneath. Chris Livesay reports on the search for a cause of the crash.

Adamuz

Investigators search for cause of deadly Spain train crash

Valentino, the renowned Italian fashion designer who proudly boasted he "knows what women want" has died in Rome. His sumptuous creations saw him crowned the king of the red carpet for major celebrities needing to be dressed to impress.

Rome

Valentino, 'The Last Emperor' of Italian fashion dies aged 93

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Global Tariffs

Trump threatens 200% tariffs on French wine over ‘Board of Peace’

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Tehran

Iran police give protesters three days to surrender for leniency

Some 3,000 federal agents are still in the Twin Cities area as President Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act over continued protests against immigration operations there. Ian Lee reports.

Minnesota

ICE operations, protests continue in Twin Cities as Trump threatens

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Greenland Stand-Off

Trump ties Greenland threat to perceived Nobel Peace Prize snub

Valentino Garavani, founder and namesake of the luxury fashion empire Valentino, has died at 93. Garavani was known for a trademarked shade of red, a staple at his fashion shows for nearly half a century.

Iconic fashion designer Valentino Garavani dead at 93

Experts studying the cause of the derailment of a high-speed train in Spain - which killed dozens of people - found a broken joint on the rails, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Investigators find broken joint on track at Spanish rail crash site

Prince Harry is back in a London court, along with a slew of other high-profile figures, fighting the publisher of the Daily Mail over invasion of privacy and illegal information gathering tactics.

London

Prince Harry back in London court fighting British tabloids

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Trump tells Norway he no longer feels obligated to think only of peace

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High-speed train crash in Spain kills dozens

Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending Canadian Forces personnel to Greenland for military exercises with NATO allies in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats on European nations who block his efforts to acquire the island, two senior Canadian officials told CBC News.

Ottawa

Carney considering sending troops to Greenland for NATO exercises

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Aleppo

Syrian government agrees to ceasefire with Kurdish-led SDF

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Brussels

European leaders denounce Trump's tariff threat over Greenland

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Asunción

EU seals contentious trade deal with Mercosur countries

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Nuuk

European governments condemn Trump's tariff threats over Greenland

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Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Gazans wary as U.S. names 'Board of Peace' under Trump's plan

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on eight European countries until they allow the U.S. to buy the autonomous Danish territory.

Trump escalates pressure on Europe over Greenland control

Protesters who support the surge of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis have clashed with counter-protesters, while state officials announced that the Minnesota National Guard had been mobilized. Adding to the mayhem was the freezing January weather.

Minneapolis

Pro and anti-ICE protesters clash in Minneapolis

Iran's supreme leader blamed the U.S. for the protests against his regime that resulted in a violent crackdown. Willie James Inman has President Trump's response.

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Copenhagen

Thousands take part in 'Hands off Greenland' protests in Denmark

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Trump threatens tariffs against European nations over Greenland support

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni won his seventh term with 71.65% of votes, according to official results Saturday, defeating the youthful challenger who campaigned for change after four decades of the same government.

Kampala

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni wins seventh term

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Ukraine Invasion

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The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from President Donald Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran's deadly crackdown on demonstrations.

U.S. claims Iran halts executions of protesters amid crackdown

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House. She presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal, which was seen as a peace offering to win his support.

Breakdown