Australians with ISIS ties leave Roj camp en route to Damascus
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Four Australian women and nine of their children and grandchildren on Friday left Roj camp in northeastern Syria in what appears to be a renewed attempt to return to Australia after years of confinement in the facility for families linked to the Islamic State (ISIS).
Camp administration confirmed that Syrian interior forces arrived at the camp and transported the group directly to Damascus.
“We can confirm that today the coordination was perfect,” Roj camp director Hakamiyeh Ibrahim said, noting the arrangement was conducted between camp authorities and the Syrian transitional government to allow the families to travel onward to their country. She added there were currently no plans for other Australians to leave the camp.
The development comes months after a failed attempt by a larger group of Australian women and children to leave the camp in February. That effort collapsed after what was described at the time as an administrative issue related to coordination with Syrian government forces during the more than 10-hour road journey to the capital.
The latest movement was reported by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said 17 individuals from four families were preparing to depart the camp this week.
Australian authorities declined to confirm the specific case. A government spokesperson reiterated that Canberra “is not and will not repatriate people from Syria,” while warning that any returnees who committed crimes would “face the full force of the law.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles denied government involvement in the move. The opposition criticized the development, arguing any return of citizens with ISIS links should be tightly managed by the federal government.
The issue has been politically contentious in Australia since February, when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had no sympathy for the group’s situation.
At the same time, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke acknowledged Australia had a legal obligation to issue travel documents to citizens, and some of the women reportedly possessed single-use passports ahead of the failed February attempt.
One of the women was later issued a Temporary Exclusion Order barring her from travelling to Australia for two years on national security grounds.
The Kurdish Autonomous Administration and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have repeatedly urged foreign governments to repatriate their citizens from Roj camp and Hawl camp, warning that prolonged detention increases the risk of radicalization, particularly among children.