President Trump’s funding freeze has thrown into confusion the future of a Syrian desert camp holding thousands of Islamic State members and their families, the camp’s director and people familiar with it said, describing it as a potential security threat in the region.
The camp, Al Hol, which houses some 39,000 people, has been whipsawed by a halt to U.S.-funded programs then short reprieves, and is still struggling to understand its status. Even as some programs critical to securing the camp received temporary extensions, another organization essential to managing the camp said it might have to halt its work there as soon as Monday.
The confusion stems from Mr. Trump’s executive order last month that froze foreign aid and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement on Monday that he was folding the United States Agency for International Development into the State Department. Elon Musk, who runs a task force in the administration, said the aim was to shut down U.S.A.I.D., which supports operations in the camp.
Read the rest of the story at The New York Times.