Following a report that some Australian families are attempting to return home from a camp in Syria, Australia declined to assist repatriate individuals connected to suspected Islamic State fighters on Saturday.
According to the camp director, four Australian women and nine of their children and grandkids departed the Roj camp in northeastern Syria on Friday, according to national broadcaster ABC.
“The Australian Government is not and will not repatriate people from Syria,” a government official told AFP, adding that Syrian soldiers were transporting them to Damascus so they could fly back to Australia.
“Our security agencies have been monitoring — and continue to monitor — the situation in Syria to ensure they are prepared for any Australians seeking to return to Australia,” the spokesperson added.
“People in this cohort need to know that if they have committed a crime and if they return to Australia they will be met with the full force of the law.”
The government’s “overriding priority” was the safety of Australians and the protection of Australia’s national interests, the spokesperson said.
The group is among 34 Australians at the camp who failed in an attempt to return home in February, reportedly due to a coordination problem with the Syrian government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared at the time that the government would not help them, saying, “You make your bed, you lie in it.”
In Australia, there is controversy over the repatriation of Islamic State members’ families; some lawmakers have warned that they could endanger national security.
On behalf of 11 women and 20 children at the Roj camp, the humanitarian group Save the Children Australia filed a lawsuit in 2023 to demand their return home.
However, the Australian government had no control over the children’s incarceration in Syria, according to the Federal Court’s decision against Save the Children.
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