If the US has turned its back on the SDF, the second abandonment in this crisis is the western failure to deal with the tens of thousands of suspected IS members and their families held in previously SDF-run prison camps such as al-Hawl – including their own nationals. The EU says that alleged breakouts are of “paramount concern”. In a country already struggling to recover from decades of Assad family dictatorship and years of civil war, which saw brutal sectarian violence involving government or allied forces last year, the risks are immense – and extend beyond the region.