Australian women and children leave Al-Roj camp in Syria for return to Australia
A group of Australian women and children has left the Al-Roj refugee camp in north-eastern Syria and is believed to be heading back to Australia. The group departed on Thursday afternoon local time on a bus seen leaving the camp, according to the supplied report. It is understood they are travelling first towards Damascus before continuing on to Australia, although the timing of that onward journey is not yet clear.
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The departure comes after an earlier return to Australia earlier this month by four women and nine children. Three of the women in that earlier group were arrested and charged by federal police after arriving in Melbourne and Sydney. The latest group is believed to include the remaining Australians who had been staying in the camp, which is used for families of jailed and killed Islamic State fighters.
The bus was reported to be travelling in a convoy with Syrian government officials acting as escorts. The camp is in Kurdish-controlled north-eastern Syria, and the report says camp officials declined to comment on the latest departure. After the group left, seven women and 14 children were said to remain in Al-Roj, although the report also says it is believed the departing group may include all of the remaining Australians.
The movement matters because it involves people linked to Islamic State families leaving a long-running detention and displacement setting in Syria and potentially returning to Australia. That raises national security and legal questions for Australian authorities, particularly after the earlier repatriation led to arrests and charges. It also highlights the continuing sensitivity around how states deal with citizens associated with the group after years of conflict in Syria and Iraq.
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The report says the fate of the Australians has been the subject of wrangling between the Syrian government, which wants progress on clearing IS camps, and Kurdish officials who remain in control of Al-Roj and the surrounding area. The Australian government has repeatedly said it is not helping to bring the women and children home. At the same time, the earlier return this month shows that repatriation has already begun in practice, even if the process remains politically and legally contested.
What remains unclear is exactly who is on the bus, when the onward journey from Damascus will take place, and whether all of the remaining Australians have now left the camp. It is also not clear what arrangements, if any, are being made for their arrival in Australia. The next developments to watch are confirmation of the convoy's destination, any further police action on arrival, and whether more departures from Al-Roj follow.
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