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BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan 23, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Poor security conditions at a camp in northeast Syria that houses thousands of suspected relatives of Islamic State group fighters including foreigners has prevented the UN refugee agency from entering, a spokesperson told AFP on Friday.

"UNHCR was able to reach Al-Hol for the past three days but has not yet been able to enter inside the camp due to the volatile security situation," the refugee agency's spokesperson in Syria, Celine Schmitt, said.

Thousands of suspected jihadists and their families, including foreigners, have been held in Kurdish-run prisons and camps in northeast Syria since IS's defeat in 2019 at the hands of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by a US-led coalition.

The SDF has relinquished large amounts of territory in recent days under military pressure from Damascus, which is seeking to extend its control across the country.

Kurdish forces withdrew from Al-Hol on Tuesday and the following day Syria's army entered the camp where thousands of men, women and children have lived in squalid conditions for years.

"Yesterday, UNHCR and UNICEF were able to deliver trucks of water to the camp," Schmitt said, referring to the UN children's agency, and added that Syrian government forces have taken control of the camp's perimeter.

"UNHCR is returning to Al-Hol today, with the hope of resuming the bread delivery that had stopped for the past three days," she said.

Located in a desert region of Hasakeh province, Al-Hol is the largest camp for suspected IS relatives and is home to some 24,000 people -- around 15,000 Syrians, 3,500 Iraqis and 6,200 other foreign women and children.

Schmitt said Syria's government "has expressed its willingness to provide security and support to UNHCR and humanitarian partners so that humanitarian operations can resume".

The UN refugee agency assumed the role of camp management on January 1, before the recent hostilities began, she added.

On Sunday, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a deal with SDF chief Mazloum Abdi that included a ceasefire and the integration of the Kurds' administration into the state, which will take responsibility for IS prisoners.

The SDF has withdrawn to parts of Syria's Hasakeh province, its stronghold located in the far northeast, after pulling out of territory it seized during its years-long battle against IS.