{"id":135636,"date":"2026-02-17T06:31:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T06:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=135636"},"modified":"2026-02-17T06:31:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T06:31:38","slug":"australia-refuses-to-repatriate-isis-linked-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/135636\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia refuses to repatriate ISIS-linked citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013<\/strong> Australia will not repatriate its citizens linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) group from camps in northeastern Syria, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, delivering a blunt message to families seeking to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to the national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Albanese said Canberra would not facilitate the return of individuals who had travelled overseas to support the extremist organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe won\u2019t repatriate them,\u201d Albanese said. \u201cThese are people who went overseas supporting Islamic State and went there to provide support for people who basically want a caliphate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A group of 34 Australians \u2014 including 11 women and 23 children \u2014 departed the Roj Camp in northeastern Syria on Feb. 15, reportedly intending to travel to Australia via Damascus. It remains unclear how their travel arrangements will proceed without government backing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said federal authorities and security agencies are closely monitoring the situation, reiterating that the government\u2019s position on repatriation remains unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision underscores Australia\u2019s firm stance on citizens who joined or supported extremist groups abroad, amid ongoing security and legal concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria in 2019, thousands of foreign nationals \u2014 including women and children \u2014 have remained in detention camps in northeastern Syria, such as Hawl and Roj, under the control of Kurdish Autonomous Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several Western countries have carried out limited repatriations, often prioritizing children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Australia previously repatriated small groups of women and children from Syrian camps in 2022 and 2023, citing humanitarian grounds and national security management frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Albanese\u2019s latest remarks signal a hardened approach toward remaining detainees with alleged ties to ISIS, reflecting ongoing debate in Australia over national security risks, legal responsibilities, and the humanitarian conditions in Syrian detention camps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Jwan Shekaki<\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Australia will not repatriate its citizens linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) group from camps in northeastern Syria, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, delivering a blunt message to families seeking to return. Speaking to the national broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Albanese said Canberra would not facilitate the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":135638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Australia refuses to repatriate ISIS-linked citizens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Australia will not repatriate its citizens linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) group from camps in northeastern Syria,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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