The Return of 34 Australians to Roj Camp in northeast Syria has drawn renewed attention to the status of foreign families linked to ISIS held in Kurdish-run camps. The group briefly left the camp before being sent back due to coordination issues with authorities in Damascus, Kurdish officials told AFP.
The individuals, described as women and children from families of ISIS members, had departed Roj Camp on Monday but returned shortly afterward. The development comes as Australia maintains its policy of not actively repatriating its citizens from Syria.
Brief Departure and Return Over “Coordination Issues”
Hikmia Ibrahim, director of Roj Camp in Hasakah province, told AFP that “11 families comprising 34 Australian nationals” had been handed over to relatives who had traveled from Australia to accompany them.
An AFP photographer at the camp saw women, some fully veiled, boarding small buses with their children. Some of the children carried small bags as they prepared to travel by road toward Damascus.
However, Rashid Omar, a camp administration official, said the families returned shortly after leaving. He cited “poor coordination between their relatives and the government in Damascus” as the reason for the reversal.
He added that the Australian delegation, which includes family representatives, is working with Syrian authorities to resolve the issue before any renewed departure.
Australian Government Reaffirms Refusal to Assist
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in an interview with ABC that his government would not assist Australians residing in the camp to return home.
He stated that Australia has “no sympathy for people who traveled overseas to participate in an attempt to establish a caliphate aimed at undermining and destroying our way of life,” referring to ISIS.
Albanese added that any citizen who returns to Australia would face “the full force of the law” if found to have committed criminal offenses.
A spokesperson for Australia’s Home Affairs Ministry told AFP that “the Australian government does not repatriate citizens from Syria,” while noting that security agencies are monitoring developments to ensure preparedness should any Australians seek to return independently.
Ongoing Political Debate in Australia
The issue of repatriating individuals linked to ISIS from Syria has generated sustained political debate in Australia. Key elements include:
Opposition from conservative parties citing national security concerns.
Advocacy by human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, urging the government to return citizens from what they describe as dire conditions.
A legal complaint filed in June 2023 by Save the Children Australia on behalf of women and children, arguing that the government has moral and legal obligations to repatriate them.
Roj Camp and the Broader Context in Northeast Syria
Roj Camp is located in a remote, rocky area near al-Malikiyah, close to the Iraqi border, and remains under the control of Kurdish forces within the Autonomous Administration of northeast Syria.
According to camp authorities, Roj currently houses more than 2,200 people from around 50 nationalities, most of them family members of ISIS fighters.
The development follows the withdrawal of Kurdish forces last month from the larger al-Hol camp amid military escalation by Syrian government forces. Al-Hol previously held around 24,000 people, including 6,300 foreigners, before most left for unknown destinations under unclear circumstances.
The camps in northeast Syria, including Roj and al-Hol, remain a major unresolved issue since the territorial defeat of ISIS, with thousands of foreign nationals awaiting decisions regarding their legal status and possible repatriation.
Conclusion:
The Return of 34 Australians to Roj Camp highlights the legal and political complexities surrounding foreign nationals held in Syria’s detention camps. With Canberra maintaining its refusal to facilitate repatriation, the future of these families depends on unresolved coordination between local authorities and the Syrian government.
