SDF in Beirut discuss Lebanese women in al-Hol camp, as Beirut-Damascus continue talks

Northeast Syria’s Kurdish-led authorities met with security officials in Beirut on Thursday to discuss repatriating Lebanese citizens from al-Hol camp, as talks between Syria's government and Lebanon moved forward.

The delegation met with Lebanese officials to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation on humanitarian and security issues, particularly the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the need to establish coordination mechanisms that ensure their rights and preserve regional stability, according to media reports.

The talks also addressed the issue of the families of Lebanese nationals affiliated with the Islamic State group who are currently held in al-Hol camp in Syria’s Hasakah province.

Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar said in a statement to Shams TV that a delegation from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) discussed the issue of Lebanese women detained in the al-Hol camp.

He added that the delegation will meet with Lebanon’s General Security to explore ways of assistance and coordination on this humanitarian matter, stressing the Lebanese government’s commitment to its citizens wherever they are.

The talks will address the possibility of repatriating them and resolving any issues that may arise in the process of bringing Lebanese nationals back home.

It marks the first time Lebanese authorities have officially addressed the issue of Lebanese women in the al-Hol camp. The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (AANES), which is affiliated to the SDF, has yet to release any official comment on the upcoming talks.

Located near the Iraqi border, al-Hol currently houses around 27,000 people, including about 15,000 Syrians, 5,000 Iraqis, and 6,300 foreign women and children from 42 different countries.

The camp, which has been described as "hell" for its inmates, was originally established for displaced Iraqis in 1991 and later became home to thousands of families linked to fighters from IS following the fall of its self-proclaimed caliphate in 2019.

It is administered by the SDF, the US-backed group that spearheaded the fight against IS and currently controls about a third of Syria. The SDF has long called on countries to repatriate their citizens from the volatile camp.

New security arrangements

The talks with AANES comes after a separate visit to Lebanon on Wednesday by security officials from the central government in Damascus.

It is the latest in a series of meetings aimed at resolving a range of outstanding issues between the war-scarred nations, which have been working to mend ties strained for decades.

The Lebanese delegation included Internal Security Forces chief Raed Abdallah and head of General Security Hassan Chouqair, while the Syrian delegation was headed by Abdul Qader Tahan, assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs.

He was accompanied by 14 security officers, as both sides discussed several issues ranging from border security, drug trafficking, and prisoners.

The meeting took place at the Habtoor Hotel in Sin el-Fil, an eastern suburb of Beirut.

Citing informed sources, Lebanese media reported that the meeting "laid the groundwork for drafting security agreements and information-sharing mechanisms."

The talks focused on several topics, including migration, counter-narcotics and counterterrorism, information management, and criminal investigations. Five joint committees made up of Syrian and Lebanese officers were formed to address these issues.

The Syrian delegation also raised the matter of Syrian nationals who entered Lebanon illegally, as well as Syrian detainees held in Lebanese prisons.

For months, and since ousting longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the new Syrian government has called on Beirut to release some 2,000 Syrians held in detention – a third of Lebanon’s total prison population.

Lebanon said it was speeding up trials and favoured releasing them or moving them to Syria, but has refused to free those convicted of terror or attacks on Lebanese military and security forces.

Chouqair added that both sides would work on preparing a joint paper outlining cooperation mechanisms between the Lebanese and Syrian security institutions, with the aim of preserving stability in both countries.

For his part, Tahan noted that "any security breach in one country directly affects the other," which necessitates the highest levels of coordination between the concerned security agencies.

The porous and often volatile Lebanon-Syria border has long been used my traffickers to smuggle drugs, weapons, and people, often resulting in deadly clashes.

Syria played a major role in Lebanon's 1975-1990 multifaceted civil war, and the Assad regime dominated the country militarily and politically until 2005.

Beirut has asked Damascus for help in locating thousands of Lebanese who went missing during the war and are believed to be in Syria, as well as for cooperation in investigating a string of assassinations in Lebanon blamed on the Assad regime.