Syrian army enters Al-Hol camp holding relatives of IS militants

Syria's army on Wednesday entered the country's vast Al-Hol detention camp that houses relatives of suspected Islamic State militants, from which Kurdish forces withdrew the day before, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The correspondent saw a large number of soldiers open the camp's metal gate and enter, while others guarded the entrance.

Al-Hol, located in a desert region of Hassakeh province, holds around 24,000 people, including 15,000 Syrians and about 6,300 foreign women and children of 42 nationalities.

Kurdish forces announced on Tuesday that they had been "compelled to withdraw" from the camp to defend cities in Syria's north threatened by the army, before a ceasefire was announced.

The camp is the largest for suspected militants established by Kurdish forces, who spearheaded the fight against IS with help from an international coalition over the past decade before IS was defeated in Syria in 2019.

The Syrian defence ministry said Tuesday it was ready to take responsibility for Al-Hol camp "and all IS prisoners".

The announcement came as US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said "the original purpose" of Kurdish forces as the primary anti-IS force had "largely expired".

The Syrian army deployed on Monday across vast parts of northern and northeastern Syria from which Kurdish forces had withdrawn.

An agreement between the two sides stipulates that the Syrian state becomes responsible for IS prisoners and that the Kurdish administration be integrated into Syrian state institutions.

Syria's interior ministry said it was taking necessary measures to maintain the security of Al-Hol.

Thousands of former militants, including many Westerners, are held in seven prisons, while tens of thousands of their family members live in two camps established by Kurdish forces in northern Syria, Al-Hol and Al-Roj.