The government of Australia has confirmed that 13 women and children with alleged links to the Islamic State have booked flights to return home after years of living in a Syrian displacement camp.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government “has not and will not provide” any assistance to the group, which consists of four women and nine children. The individuals are part of a larger cohort of 34 people believed to include wives, widows, and children of Islamic State fighters.
Authorities said the group had previously left the al-Roj camp in northern Syria earlier this year but returned due to what officials described as “technical reasons,” after an earlier attempt at movement that did not result in official repatriation.
Burke stressed that the government had been aware of the group’s situation for years and had contingency plans in place since 2014 to manage any potential return.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” he said. “Any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law.”
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Krissy Barrett said intelligence agencies, including Australian Federal Police and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, have been investigating the group for more than a decade, collecting evidence on potential terrorism and crimes against humanity, including allegations of slave trading.
Barrett confirmed that some of the returning individuals are expected to be arrested upon arrival, while others will remain under active investigation. She added that children in the group would be placed in community integration programs, including therapeutic and counter-extremism support.
Australia’s intelligence chief, Mike Burgess, said the returnees were not an immediate threat but would be closely monitored.
“They will get our attention as you’d expect,” he said, noting that authorities would act if any individuals displayed concerning behaviour after arrival.
Of the broader group of 34, 23 are believed to be children who have lived in the al-Roj camp since 2019, after the territorial defeat of Islamic State in Syria.
The development places Syria again at the centre of international debates over the repatriation of citizens linked to extremist groups, an issue several countries, including France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, continue to handle cautiously.
Earlier this year, Australia imposed a temporary exclusion order on one member of the group, restricting their return for up to two years.
