Last of Australian ISIS linked families leave Syrian camps

Seven Australian women and 14 children have arrived in Damascus from the Roj camp in northeast Syria, marking the departure of the last known Australian group associated with the Islamic State (ISIS). This development comes more than a decade after tens of thousands of foreign ISIS supporters initially arrived in Syria.

Many foreigners, including many from Western countries, joined ISIS after it seized territory in Syria and Iraq in 2014, committing genocide against groups like the Yazidis. After the collapse of ISIS in 2019, these foreign fighters and their families ended up in camps, primarily Al-Hol and Roj, along with some 20 detention facilities. As the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) integrate with Syrian security forces, these families are now largely leaving eastern Syria.

The case of the Australian nationals has proven particularly complex, as the Australian government has reportedly been reluctant to allow them back. In February, NPR reported that an Australian citizen with alleged ties to ISIS was banned from returning home from a Syrian detention camp. This woman was reportedly planning to join another group of 33 Australians, 10 women and 23 children, in flying to Australia from Damascus.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed that the government had issued a temporary exclusion order for one woman, with her lawyers receiving the necessary paperwork. Jamal Rifi, speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), expressed uncertainty about how many would ultimately reach Australia. He noted the difficulty in managing the return of children once they reach adulthood, stating, "Nobody could stop those kids once they reach adulthood from coming back, because they are Australian citizens and they either come now with their mothers or they come later on their own and then into adulthood, [when it would] be even more difficult for our security and agencies to keep tabs on their behavior, ideology or action."

Rudaw reported the group's arrival in Damascus, though their return to Australia this month remains uncertain. Earlier in May, four women and nine children returned to Australia, with three of the women subsequently arrested and charged by the Australian Federal Police upon arrival in Melbourne and Sydney.

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Nobody could stop those kids once they reach adulthood from coming back, because they are Australian citizens and they either come now with their mothers or they come later on their own and then into adulthood, [when it would] be even more difficult for our security and agencies to keep tabs on their behavior, ideology or action.