UN: Violence rising in al Hol camp

A UN official highlighted the increasing violence in al Hol camp of Northern Syria in a statement after a four day mission in the region.

''This year alone, at least 26 people, including three this week, have been murdered in the camp. Twenty of those murdered were women,'' said Imran Riza, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria. 

He warned that Northeast Syria is facing a severe water crisis from drinking water to water for irrigation, food production, and power generation that is affecting the health and livelihoods of residents.

Addressing the complexities of the populations of Al Hol and Ar Roj camps, Rize called on the countries who have women and children in these camps to urgently find means of repatriating those who wish to come back.

The al-Hol camp, home to 55 thousand ISIS (Islamic State) suspects and their families is run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who cleared the islamic militants from the region.

More than 90 percent of the residents in the camp are women and children from 60 countries, mostly from Syria and Iraq. Half of the children are under 12 years old. 

Washington Post last year reported that these children were raised by  hard-line, militant women who appointed themselves as religious police, and who are presumed responsible for many killings as retaliation for transgressions like talking to the camp authorities.