Australian women and children leave Syrian detention camp for Damascus – and potentially home | Australia news
Four Australian women and their nine children and grandchildren left Al Roj camp in north-east Syria with the intention of returning to Australia.
The group is reportedly traveling towards the capital, Damascus, by road through Syria under the control of the Syrian government.
Seven more Australian women and 14 of their children remain in the Roj camp, sources said on Saturday.
Wives, widows and children of imprisoned or deceased Islamic State fighters have been held in the camp for more than six years. None of them were charged with a crime, but one woman was given a ticket. temporary removal order To prevent him from returning to Australia.
The camp, controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is under permanent closure ahead of its expected handover to the Syrian government.
Conditions gradually deteriorated: epidemics of dysentery and influenza are common; It is spreading rapidly among people living in dilapidated tents in close proximity, especially among underdeveloped and malnourished children, and the camp is a regular target of ISIS attacks.
The US has described detention camps in Syria as “radicalization incubators”.
Most Australian women and children have been held in the Roj camp since 2019. Some of the children were born in the camp.
In February, the entire Australian group held in El Roj tried to leave by taking minibuses to Damascus, but they were turned back by Syrian government forces after being on the road for two hours.
At the time, it was stated that the group was unable to coordinate their travel with the Syrian government, even though each person had a valid travel document issued by the Australian government.
Syrian sources confirmed repatriation efforts this weekend.
ABC quotes al-Roj camp director Hakmiyeh IbrahimHe said that “the coordination was perfect” for this comeback.
“This was done between us and the Syrian government so we could repatriate these families.”
Ibrahim said there were currently no plans for the remaining Australians to leave the camp.
“We are currently in contact with several countries. We hope to have more broadcasts in the near future.”
While other countries have been actively repatriating their citizens since 2022, the Australian government has refused to help citizens return home.
Australia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said on Saturday that the government played no role in bringing the current group home.
“This government does not agree with repatriating people in this situation,” he told ABC TV.
The Australian government has previously undertaken two successful repatriation missions: the repatriation of eight orphaned children in 2019 and four women and 13 children in 2022.
But it has since refused to repatriate any more of its citizens.
A woman returnee was accused of entering a restricted area in Raqqa province. Mariam Raad pleaded guilty and was granted conditional discharge in a NSW court.
Last October, two women and four children escaped from the nearby Al Hawl detention camp and traveled via Syria to Lebanon, where they were issued passports at the Australian embassy. They returned to Australia on a commercial flight.
In 2024, then home affairs minister Clare O’Neil was preparing to submit a plan to send the remaining Australians back to cabinet for approval.
But there were concerns within the government about any backlash over the repatriation of community groups living in electorally critical marginal seats in Sydney’s west. The plan was abandoned.
The United States funds the bulk of security operations in northeastern Syria through the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. He wants the camp closed, withdraws funds, and forces his allies to repatriate their citizens.
The Islamic State tries to “brainwash the people and infiltrate detention facilitiesUSA says in al-Roj.
