Child dies from critical injuries sustained in al-Hol camp fire: SOHR

"It is worth noting that a child died and three others sustained various injuries at that time."

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/03/26 15:11

Women look after children at the sprawling al-Hol displacement camp in northeastern Syria, Oct. 17, 2019 (AFP/Delil Souleiman)

Syria Al-Hol Camp Save the Children Hasakah

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A girl died from injuries she sustained from a fire in her tent in northeast Syria's al-Hol camp a week ago, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reported on Friday.

"It is worth noting that a child died and three others sustained various injuries at that time," SOHR said in its report.

According to Save the Children, a two-year-old baby girl was killed when a faulty heater sparked a fire in the camp on Mar. 18.

"It is difficult to find the words. This girl never got to experience life outside a camp. These unsafe camps are no place for children," Save the Children tweeted.

It's not the first fire in al-Hol. Some previous fires there were lit by arsonists.

A woman died, and one of her children was injured when a fire broke out in the foreigner's section of the camp on Mar. 11.

According to data from the UN, al-Hol is the largest camp for refugees and internally displaced people in Syria, hosting about 56,000 people.

Most of al-Hol's residents are Iraqis and Syrians, but the camp also includes many foreign families thought to have ISIS links.

The local authorities have attempted to reduce pressure on the displacement camps in northeast Syria by repatriating Iraqis and allowing displaced Syrians to return to their places of origin.

More than 120 families have been reintegrated in five Iraqi provinces following their recent repatriation from al-Hol, Iraq's National Security Advisory announced on Friday.