Syrian Kurdish forces on Monday released 34 Australians from a camp holding families of suspected Islamic State terrorists in northern Syria, saying they would be flown to Australia from Damascus.
Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been released to their families, who had come to Syria for the release. They were put on small buses for Damascus.
The Roj camp holds more than 2,000 people from 40 nationalities, most of them women and children.
Suspect ISIS terrorists held at Roj camp
Thousands of people believed to be linked to Islamic State terrorists have been held at Roj and a second camp, al-Hol, since the jihadist group was driven from its final territorial foothold in Syria in 2019.
Syrian government forces seized swathes of northern Syria from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in January, before agreeing to a ceasefire on January 29.
The US military last week completed a mission to transfer 5,700 adult male Islamic State terrorists from Syria to Iraq.
Australia rules out helping families of IS militants leave
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his government would not help Australians in a Syrian camp holding families of suspected Islamic State militants return home, with the government open to prosecutions if they make it back.
"We have a very firm view that we won't be providing assistance or repatriation," Albanese told ABC News.
Dubbed "IS brides" by local media, though the cohort also includes children, they are expected to travel to Damascus before eventually returning to Australia, despite objection from ruling and opposition lawmakers.
A spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia's security agencies had been monitoring the situation in Syria, and said those who had broken the law would be prosecuted.
"People in this cohort need to know that if they have committed a crime and if they return to Australia they will be met with the full force of the law," he said.
Islamic State is a listed terror organization in Australia, with membership of the group punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Australia also has the power to strip dual nationals of citizenship if they are an Islamic State member.
Surge in right-wing populism
The return of relatives of suspected IS militants is a political issue in Australia, that has seen a surge in popularity of the right wing, anti-immigration One Nation party led by Pauline Hanson.
"They hate Westerners, and that's what it's all about. You say there's great Muslims out there, well I'm sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims?" Hanson said in an interview on Sky News on Monday, following news of the suspected Islamic State family members return.
The comments were criticized by members of Hanson's party.
A poll this week found One Nation's share of the popular vote at a record high of 26%, above the combined support for the traditional center-right coalition currently in opposition.
Sarah Henderson, a senator in the Liberal party that has seen its vote eroded by One Nation, said on Tuesday that Australians with sympathies towards Islamic State should be barred from reentering the country.
“If these are people who subscribed to ISIS ideology, who subscribe to this extremist ideology, then they should not be returning to Australia,” she told ABC.
Australian citizens have a legal right to enter the country under both local and international law.