Australian authorities said on Wednesday that 13 citizens linked to alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) group plan to return from Syria. The group — four women and nine children — had been living in the Roj camp and are expected to arrive at airports in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the returnees will receive no government assistance, calling their decision “appalling” and “disgraceful,” and saying he was alerted when the travel booking was made. Australia has imposed a temporary exclusion order on one woman from the same camp, which can prevent high-risk citizens returning for up to two years; Burke said that ban remains in place.
Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said some individuals will be arrested and face criminal charges on arrival, while others may remain under investigation. Children will be placed in community reintegration and support programs. Police have collected evidence in Syria as they probe whether Australians committed offences under Australian law, including travelling to a prohibited area and involvement in the slave trade.
A February attempt by a larger group of 34 women and children to repatriate from Roj was halted by Syrian authorities. Between 2012 and 2016 some Australian women travelled to Syria to join husbands who had become IS members; after the so-called caliphate collapsed in 2019 many were detained in camps, while others have returned to Australia.
Burke said there are “very serious limits” on what authorities can do to stop Australian citizens re-entering the country. He added that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have maintained contingency plans since 2014 to manage people linked to extremist groups.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko