al-Haul

الهول al-Haul
al-Haul
Coordinates	36 ° 23 '  N , 41 ° 9'  E Coordinates: 36 ° 23 '  N , 41 ° 9'  E
Basic data
Country	Syria
Governorate	al-Hasakah
height	452 m
Residents	3409 (2004)

Al-Haul or al-Hol ( Arabic الهول, DMG al-Haul  'swampland', also known as al-Hool and al-Houl ) is a city in the al-Hasakah governorate in northeastern Syria. It is the administrative center of the sub-district of the same name al-Haul with 22 municipalities. In a 2004 census, the city was home to 3,409 people.

During the civil war in Syria , al-Haul was conquered by the Islamic State (IS). Due to its strategic location and its almost uniform population of Arabs, the city became an important place for IS. On November 13, 2015, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expelled IS from al-Haul. This was the first major victory for the recently formed SDF.

Geography and infrastructure

The city is located about 40 km east of the provincial capital al-Hasakah on the southern bank of the wadi ʿAṭā Allāh. While the wadi has dried up, there is the ʿAyn al-Haul spring south of the city . Around the city there are some army bases that were formerly used by the Syrian armed forces .

A main road runs north of the city and connects al-Hasakah via Tal Hamis with the al-Yaʿrubiyya border crossing into Iraq . To the south of the city there is another road, which after 20 km leads to the Maʿbar Umm Yaris border crossing and on to Jabal Sinjar in Iraq.

Al Haul refugee camp

During the Second Gulf War , the UNHCR set up a refugee camp on the southern edge of al-Haul at the beginning of 1991 , which was administered in cooperation with the Syrian government. Together with a camp near al-Hasakah, at least 15,000 Iraqi refugees lived here. The camp was reopened during the 2003 Iraq War when the Iraqi government expelled thousands of Palestinians from the country. The camp is still in operation and houses internally displaced persons from Syria and Iraqis who fled Mosul from the fighting . After the terrorist organization IS was driven out, the camp was mainly used to house women and children who had previously lived in areas under the control of IS that had now come under the control of the SDF. With 72,000 residents at the end of March 2019, the Al-Haul camp was several times overcrowded.

Even after the military defeat of IS, there are many supporters of the terrorist militia in the camp and incidents of violence occur regularly. Tuberculosis, syphilis and diphtheria are serious problems in the camp. The Kurdish Red Crescent is urging more aid and a reduction in the number of refugees. In addition to the countries of origin, he also criticizes Germany in this context for its refusal to take back German IS supporters.

civil war in Syria

During the offensive by the People's Defense Units (YPG) between February and March 2015, ISIS was driven out of large parts of the eastern governorate of al-Hasakah, including Tal Hamis and Tell Brak . The southeast corner around Ash-Shaddadi and al-Haul remained in the hands of IS. In October 2015, the YPG and its partners such as the Arab Quwat as-Sanadid founded the SDF. The leader of the Quwat al-Sanadid Bandar al-Humaydi saw the liberation of al-Haul and al-Shaddadis as the SDF's top priority.

At the end of October 2015, the offensive began from Tal Hamis. On November 11th, Chatuniyah, northeast of al-Haul, was captured. A day later, al-Haul was trapped on two sides and taken on November 13th. As part of the ongoing offensive, Ash-Schaddadi was captured on February 19, 2016.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Master: The Syrian Democratic Forces seize the town of al- Hol in the eastern countryside of al- Hasakah. (No longer available online.) In: Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015 ; accessed on November 14, 2015 . 
3. ↑ World refugee report 1992, p. 158, published by the Bureau for Refugee Programs of the US Department of State
4. ^ Third World Institute (ed.): The World Guide: A View from the South 2005/06 . Oxfam , 2005, ISBN 978-1-904456-11-7 , pp. 533 .
5. ↑ Mohsen Moh'd Saleh (ed.): The Palestinian Strategic Report 2007 . Al-Zaytouna Center, Beirut , ISBN 978-9953-500-67-6 , p. 357 .
6. ↑ UN responds to Rojavan call for support, delivers aid to IDPs and Iraqi refugees ( Memento from April 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), message from aranews.net from December 6, 2016
7. ↑ Heather Murdock: "Thousands More Flee Last Islamic State Enclave in Syria" VOA of March 21, 2019
8. ↑ https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/syrien-fluechtlinge-al-hol-101.html
9. ^ Roy Gutman: New allies in northern Syria don't seem to share US Goals. (No longer available online.) McClatchy DC, October 27, 2015, archived from the original on November 14, 2015 ; accessed on November 7, 2015 .