ROJ CAMP, Northeast Syria — The rise to power in Syria of Ahmad al-Sharaa, who waged jihad for many years, has boosted morale among the thousands of women — and children — from across the world at this forlorn internment camp for the families of Islamic State fighters that sits on the edge of the Iraqi border. They will have been further buoyed by reports this week that the Trump administration is planning to reduce the number of US special forces deployed in northeast Syria, where they are waging a campaign to degrade and destroy ISIS remnants together with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Already, the administration’s shock decision in January to shutter USAID — which provided more than half of the funding for Roj and its larger, notoriously violent sister camp, al-Hol — is further fueling radicalism, the head of intelligence for the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), the all-female fighting force that gained global acclaim for its valor against ISIS, told Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview conducted on April 8.

A pale-skinned brunette sits erect, her hands neatly folded on her lap, her gaze veering between steely and kind. She introduces herself as Heval Kurdistan, a nom de guerre, and is flanked by two other female intelligence officers who monitor the camps. “When they heard Jolani had overthrown [former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad], many of the women packed their suitcases and told our colleagues, ‘Soon you will be in our places and we will be in yours,’” Kurdistan recalled, using Sharaa’s own nom de guerre from his jihadi days. The fact that Sharaa has renounced his extremist past, including a brief stint with ISIS, and turned his guns on the group has apparently not registered, possibly because some, including many Kurdish leaders here, view the shift as a tactical one. 

In the months since, attacks with makeshift knives and other sharp objects on camp security staff have steadily increased. Security cameras have been repeatedly broken by rock-hurling children, who make up more than half of the camp’s population. Some 40% are thought to be under the age of 12. 

Since 2019, when ISIS lost its “caliphate” with the fall of Baghouz, more than 150 killings have been documented at al-Hol alone. Roj, which was formerly likened to Club Med because of its relatively more relaxed environment, has succumbed to violence as well. In March alone, two women — a Moroccan and an Egyptian — were found dead at the camp.