BRUSSELS — The European Union’s diplomatic arm will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to deal with 55,000 ISIS-linked detainees, some of which are EU citizens, after the United States abruptly paused much of its aid to the two camps in Syria.
Al Hol and Roj camps have in recent years been seen as a means to contain the Islamic State, even more so since the ouster of dictator Bashar Assad in December 2024.
The meeting will be with all concerned services and cabinets, and EU partners, said two EU officials, granted anonymity to speak openly about the sensitive matter.
“The EU citizens there are not necessarily people member states will be rushing to welcome back in a disorganized manner,” said one of the officials.
The camps, run by U.S. Kurdish allies in Syria, relied primarily on international aid, including hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S.
Following President Donald Trump’s move to attempt to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, officials in Brussels were concerned this could trigger both a humanitarian and security crisis in Syria unless the funding gaps are plugged.
The two camps house primarily women and children, and none of the people in these “closed camps” have been charged with crimes. Human rights organizations have pointed out some of the people in those camps fled ISIS themselves and people have been detained in dire conditions, with allegations of torture and violence.
“We are very conscious we have a new situation with the camps handed over to the central government and the government having difficulties controlling its territory,” said the second EU official. “We need to find measures that ensure that the terrorists don’t come to Europe.”
In recent months the EU has made overt movements to push the millions of Syrians within its borders to return to their home country after the end of Assad’s rule, and a 14-year civil war. In the hours and days after his downfall, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Sweden and the U.K. paused the handling of asylum applications, with authorities saying the fears from which Syrians fled no longer existed.
Since December, EU donors have attempted to cover some of the humanitarian and security concerns faced by the new Syrian government as it attempts to unify a country split into more than a dozen territories during the civil war.
This looming meeting comes after international donors hosted by the EU pledged nearly €6 billion this week in Brussels to assist the new Syrian government that took the place of Assad. In recent months, the bloc has made efforts to reestablish diplomatic ties with Syria, including the lifting sanctions.
Earlier this month, violence erupted in northwestern Syria when Assad-affiliated insurgents attacked Syrian government-backed security forces. In retaliatory attacks, security forces killed more than 1,000 people, primarily Alawite civilians, a religious minority the Assad family hails from.
A spokesperson for the EEAS did not respond for comment.
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