The author regularly visits detention facilities in northeastern Syria, including Roj camp, as part of her academic/journalistic research (i.e., several times a year). This text is based on interviews with the employees and detainees of the Roj camp. This post is the first in a small series of blog entries highlighting the challenges of repatriation under Syria’s new political conditions, which significantly affect the security of Europeans: both the detained women and children affiliated with ISIS, as well as their countries of origin.

In December 2024, Syria experienced a major political turning point when rebel groups led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and Abu Muhammad al-Julani, currently the interim president known by his original name, Ahmad Shar’a, assumed power. This change sparked celebrations among detained women in Roj camp in the north of the country, many of whom are from Europe. The women distributed sweets among themselves, and many of them, despite the camp’s ban, began covering their faces with the niqab again: a symbol of a return to stricter religious expression, which they perceived as an expression of freedom and ideological alignment with the new leadership in Damascus.

Political Changes and New Opportunities Repatriation

At the beginning of 2025, political changes in Syria and the USA translated into new opportunities for repatriation of detained men, women, and children affiliated with ISIS. According to a Kurdish official in Syria, some governments are considering renewing efforts to bring their nationals home before the situation in Syria further destabilizes, especially if the new political leadership in Washington proceeds with the considered withdrawal of US troops from Syrian territory.

The Roj detention camp, located in northeastern Syria and administered by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), is divided into two sections: one for Iraqi families (72 families, 319 people including men), the other for foreign wives and children of ISIS members. As of January 2025, it housed 774 families—2,270 people (January 2025).

Manipulation of Identity and Behavior in the Camp

The Roj camp administration, thanks to the smaller number of detainees (about 2,500 people), has a more personal overview of detainees than the much larger Al Hol camp (about 40,000 people) located approximately 136 kilometers from Roj camp. Nevertheless, identifying the women detained there is difficult for several reasons. 

The main barrier is the lack of verifiable identification data. During regular checks, the camp administration notes that women detained in the second sector systematically give false names and nationalities. This problem is exacerbated in cases where women have children from multiple fathers with different citizenships. In addition, families regularly change the numbered tents in which they are accommodated so that the administration loses track of their location.

Many detained women often confide their intentions regarding repatriation only to official (government) delegations, not to the camp administration. The camp administration therefore has no idea what specific individuals intend for the future.

Security Situation, Escapes, and Humanitarian Crisis

The behavior of women in the camp changes depending on the security situation. During the regime change and while experiencing regular Turkish attacks on Kurdish self-administered territory, women tended to organize, put on the niqab, and follow the latest news on their TVs and phones which have been smuggled in. In calmer periods, however, the women appear more moderate.

The worsening humanitarian situation, caused by the reduction and suspension of aid from USAID at the beginning of 2025, has led to restrictions on basic needs such as bread and fuel, directly endangering the lives of detainees. Additionally, Lack of funds and reduction of security forces guarding the camp contributed to an increase in escape attempts. For example, in January 2025, 27 people attempted to escape, but were apprehended. As the camp administration further told the author, escape attempts are not uncommon.

Escapes are organized: women monitor the change of guards, look for weak spots in the fencing, and cooperate with smugglers around the camp. After the fall of the Assad regime, new escape routes have emerged. While previously women on the run headed for Turkey, today one of the routes is, for example, the Deir ez-Zor province and other territories newly controlled by HTS (Damascus). Furthermore, some women may be in contact with their husbands that are now part of HTS.

Security Operations and Diplomatic Changes

At the beginning of April 2025, Kurdish security forces (YPG and allied women-led units known as YPJ) carried out a major operation in the camp, arresting 16 people (6 men and 10 women) suspected of active cooperation with ISIS and smuggling families out of the camp. This intervention showed that even six years after ISIS’s territorial defeat, the security situation in the camp and its surroundings remains tense.

At the diplomatic level, several European countries (France, Italy, Germany) have reopened or are preparing to reopen their embassies in Damascus, which, together with the return of the EU ambassador to Syria, will allow for more effective and routine handling of repatriation. If these embassies are reopened, returnee cases could be managed with official government authorities in Syria rather than with unofficial Kurdish authorities.

After a temporary suspension between December 2024 and January 2025, repatriation efforts have resumed. For example, in March 2025, Austria repatriated two women and three children from the Roj camp, and in April, the UK repatriated one woman and three children. Germany also repatriated a woman with four children in early May. This was the first repatriation after a long time, with the country last repatriating its citizens at the end of 2022. However, hundreds of other women and children from Europe linked to ISIS remain in the camp, including reportedly around 12-13 families with ties to Germany, according to a Kurdish official of the camp.

The change of the Syrian regime and new diplomatic channels have influenced the possibilities for repatriating European women and children from Roj camp. Nevertheless, repatriation remains complicated not only due to administrative and security challenges but also because of the resistance of the detained women themselves and their ability to forge their identities or organize escapes. 

The future development will depend on the stability of the new Syrian government, the willingness of (not only European) governments to repatriate their citizens, access to humanitarian aid, and the effectiveness of international cooperation.

Look out for the next blog in this series, coming soon: Signs of Radicalization in Roj Camp: What to Watch for When Repatriating (not only) European Women.