The al-Hawl refugee camp (also al-Hol refugee camp) is a refugee camp on the southern outskirts of the town of al-Hawl in northern Syria, close to the Syria-Iraq border, which holds individuals displaced from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It is controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Anti-government forces imprison children that are believed to support the government. There are 292,000 children trapped in besieged areas. The affected areas include Damascus, Idlib, Deir Az Zor and Homs. These areas have been besieged by both rebel and pro-government forces.

In mid-2014, the Iraqi National Intelligence Service obtained information from an ISIL operative which revealed that the organisation had assets worth US$2 billion, making it the richest jihadist group in the world.

In and around the notorious camp which has housed many families of alleged extremist fighters since the defeat of ISIL in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, “there are more than 22,000 foreign children of at least 60 nationalities who languish in camps and prisons, in addition to many thousands of Syrian children”, said …

Iraq’s government confirmed that the first 94 of 500 Iraqi families at al-Hol now cleared for return were transferred in May to the camp – located south of the city of Mosul in Nineveh province, in territory that was under IS rule for more than two years between 2014 and 2017.

Al Hol is a holding camp for the women and the children of IS. The men were all taken to local prisons where they remain. The situation in both the prisons and the camp is the same: a legal limbo where foreigners, who ended up joining IS, now wait while the world wonders what to do with them.

Syrian Refugee Camps and Settlements

• Syrian refugees have sought asylum in more than 130 countries, but the vast majority live in neighboring countries within the region, such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.
• The majority of Syrians in the region live with host communities.

• Zaatari in Jordan, currently the largest camp for Syrian refugees.
• A camp near the Syrian border at Suruç, Turkey.
• The Ceylanpınar tent camp.
• A winter tent in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
• Encampment in Lebanon close to the Syrian border.

U.S. officials say there are about 900 American troops currently deployed in Syria. In addition to military advice and support for local forces, American soldiers also contribute to capacity building on a local level.

There were approximately 1,500–2,000 U.S. Marine and Special Operations Forces in Syria, spread across 12 different facilities, being used as training bases for Kurdish rebels. These soldiers withdrew from Syria to western Iraq in October 2019.

Fort Bragg

The majority of Americans are based in Dubai. Due to the extensive military cooperation between both countries, there are also around 3,500 American military personnel stationed at the Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi. The base, which is operated jointly, is one of the key US military bases in the region.

The United States is the third country to establish formal diplomatic relations with the UAE and has had an ambassador resident in the UAE since 1974. The two countries have enjoyed friendly relations with each other and have developed strong government-to-government ties including a close security cooperation.

The U.S. has nearly 40,000 military personnel in the Middle East. The U.S. Fifth Fleet is in Bahrain and has 28,000 military personnel in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.