A group of Australian women and children who were detained in eastern Syria for half a decade have returned to Australia. Notably, the women are suspected of supporting ISIS. It is unknown when they went to Syria, but around 50,000 foreign backers of ISIS went to Syria in 2014-2015.
Many women were detained in 2019 when ISIS collapsed. This included women from dozens of countries, along with their children. The group arrived in Australia after another group of four women and nine children returned earlier this month.
According to Asharq al-Awsat, a “cohort of Australian women and children linked to ISIS has returned home from a Syrian refugee camp, the second such group to arrive back in Australia this month.”
The report added, “Local media reported two women and seven children landed in Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon via Doha. Another flight carrying four women and six children arrived in Sydney in the evening.”
The Australians had been held in the Roj camp in eastern Syria. This was one of two large camps, along with Al-Hol, where many women and children were held.
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces ran ISIS detainee camp security
The population of the camps was formerly around 60,000 people. There were also around 2,000 male ISIS detainees in 24 facilities, with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in charge of the security. The SDF had an internal security force, Asayish, that handled detainees. The detainees mostly sat in camps from 2019 to 2026.
The new Syrian government has sought to close the camps, and they are now mostly closed. Hundreds of the worst ISIS detainees were transferred to Iraq with backing from the US Central Command.
The women and children have mostly left the camps. Some sought to return to their home countries; the Australians are one such group. They have been trying to return for months.
Canberra not assisting in ISIS detainee travel, minister confirms
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government was not assisting their travel and that anyone who had committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law, Reuters reported.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organization and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” Burke said in a statement.
The women are being investigated, and several have been arrested. “Two of the women were arrested at Melbourne Airport and charged with slavery offenses, while one in Sydney was charged with terror-related offenses, including allegedly joining ISIS,” Asharq's report said.
ISIS was involved in the genocide of the Yazidi minority in Iraq in 2014. Many foreigners committed abuses against people in Syria and Iraq.
“One woman from western Sydney was issued a temporary exclusion order by the government, preventing her from returning, public service broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported. Her child was not covered by the order, but decided to stay,” the report added.
“Any breaches of the law will mean that these people will face the full force of the law to the extent available upon the advice of the security agencies,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said.