There are approximately one and a half million refugees and migrants in Northern and Eastern Syria regions. Most refugees in the region live in Hesêkê Canton. Needs and the security of these refugees are mostly provided by the Autonomous Administration Social Affairs Committee.

Although there are about 100 international aid organizations in the region, limited and temporary aid is provided to migrants and refugees. The refugee camp in the region where the most aid is provided is Hol Camp, where thousands of ISIS members stay. International organizations provide partial aid to the refugees from Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî, who had to migrate due to the Turkish invasion attacks.

January-March 2018: The invasion of Afrin let to the displacement of 400,000 people

Due to the invasion attacks launched by the Turkish state on Afrin in 2018, more than 400,000 people were forced to leave their homes seeking shelter in the surrounding areas. Those who settled in the districts of Shehba and Afrin are still exposed to attacks. The people of Afrin, who have been subjected to hundreds of attacks, have never been discouraged by them and are waiting for the day they will be able to return to Afrin.

October 2019: A new wave of migration

The Turkish state launched a new invasion operation against Northern and Eastern Syria regions on 9 October 2019. Due to these attacks, approximately 500,000 civilians from Serêkaniyê, Girê Spî, Til Temir and Zirgan regions were forced to leave their homes. Refugees were placed in more than 80 schools, most of them in Hesekê Canton. The Autonomous Administration built 3 camps in a short time and moved the refugees there.

15 Camps for hundred of thousands of refugees

There are tens of small camps as well as 15 large refugee camps in the Northern and Eastern Syrian regions. Some hundred thousand refugees live in these camps.

Camps in Jazira region

Most refugees and migrants in Northern and Eastern Syria are in the Jazira Region. There are 6 camps in the region, including the camps where the families of ISIS mercenaries stay.

Hol Camp

Hol Camp, 45 km east of Hesekê, was established in 1991 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The camp, which was first used to host Iraqi refugees fleeing the Gulf War, was used once again after the US intervention in Iraq in 2003.

ISIS mercenaries then occupied the Hol camp and began to use it as a center. Liberated by SDF forces in October 2015, the camp has been under the control of the Autonomous Administration ever since.

Hol Camp is known as the most dangerous camp in the region, as it houses the families of ISIS mercenaries. More than 60,000 people live in the camp. There are 30,738 Iraqi refugees (8,256 families) staying in the camp where 8,519 ISIS members are also located. In addition, there are 21,324 people (5,684 families) from different regions of Syria.

Roj Camp

Roj Camp in the city of Dêrîk was established on 24 June 2015 for families of ISIS mercenaries. A total of 2,681 ISIS members stay in the camp, mostly from European countries, including Iraqis and Syrians.

Washokani Camp

The camp in Hesekê was established by the Northern and Eastern Syria Autonomous Administration for the Serêkaniyê citizens who had to leave their homes due to the Turkish state's occupation of Serêkaniyê in October 2019. Migrants from Serêkaniyê, Til Temir and Zirgan live in the camp. 14,714 people (2,373 families) stay in the camp, which consists of 3 sections.

Serêkaniyê Camp

The Serêkaniyê Camp in the east of Hesekê was established by the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria in August 2020 for the Serêkaniyê residents who settled in schools in Hesekê due to the Turkish invasion attacks. 11,135 people (2,160 families) stay in the camp.

Newroz Camp

The Newroz camp in the city of Dêrîk was established in 2014 for Shengal people fleeing from the ISIS massacre. After the Shengal people returned to their lands, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî people who fled the Turkish occupation were placed in the camp. 1,616 people (258 families) stay in the camp.

Erîşa Camp

In the Erîşa Camp, which is an old camp, there are those who fled from the areas under the control of the Syrian regime, mostly from Deir ez-Zor. 14,073 people (2,815 families) stay in the camp.

Camps in Raqqa, Tabqa and Manbij

There are also 5 camps in the regions of Raqqa, Tabqa and Manbij in Northern and Eastern Syria. Apart from these camps, there are dozens of other unofficial small dispersed camps in the region.

Girê Spî Camp (Til Semin Camp)

The camp in the city of Raqqa was established for those living in Girê Spî and its villages, who fled the invasion attacks of the Turkish state in November 2019. 3,754 people (735 families) stay in the camp.

Al Mahmudi Camp

The camp in Tabqa was established for refugees fleeing the Syrian regime-controlled Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Deir ez-Zor regions. 8,501 people (1,770 families) stay in the camp.

Former East Manbij Camp

Migrants fleeing the war in the regime-controlled areas east of Aleppo stay in East Manbij Camp. 1,875 people (384 families) stay here.

New East Manbij Camp

Immigrants from Aleppo and its surroundings stay in the camp in Manbij. 3,337 people (606 families) stay in the camp.

Camps in Shehba and Afrin

With the Turkish state's occupation of Afrin in 2018, over 400,000 civilians had to leave their homes and migrate. The majority of those who fled then are stayin in Shehba and in 5 camps (Efrîn, Weger, Serdem, Berxwedan and Shehba Camps) located in Sherawa district of Afrin.

Closed camps

Ain Issa Camp

The camp was established in April 2016 in the northwest of Ain Issa for refugees from Raqqa district. Families of ISIS mercenaries from the region of Deir ez-Zor and Baghoz were places in this camp in July 2018 by the SDF and the number of the people staying there rose to over 9,000.

During the invasion attacks launched by the Turkish state against Northern and Eastern Syria regions on 9 October 2019, the prison where ISIS mercenaries were held and the Ain Issa camp, where most of the ISIS families were staying, were targeted by the Turkish state. From there, 750 ISIS mercenaries and their families fled to Turkey. And once there, they were armed again and attacked the cities of Northern and Eastern Syria.

Jadidat Al Humir Camp

The camp, located 26 kilometres south of Manbij, was established on 1 April 2020 for those who had to leave their homes due to the war in Idlib. The camp, which housed 25 families, was closed on 1 July 2020, after the return of migrants to their lands.