Australia Repatriates 17 Women, Children From Syrian Refugee Camp

The Australian government has repatriated four Australian women and their 13 children from a Syrian refugee camp to New South Wales State, home affairs minister Clare O’Neil has said.

The repatriation is part of a plan to bring back from Syria dozens of Australian women and children who are relatives of dead or jailed ISIL (ISIS) fighters and who have spent years at the al-Hol and Roj detention camps in Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syria.

O’Neil said in a statement on Saturday; “The decision to repatriate these women and their children was informed by individual assessments following detailed work by national security agencies."

O’Neil stated that the focus has been on the safety and security of “all Australians” as well as those involved in the repatriation, with the government having “carefully considered the range of security, community and welfare factors in making the decision to repatriate”.

The repatriation followed similar moves by the United States, Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Canada, O’Neil said.

Australia first repatriated eight children and grandchildren of two dead ISIL fighters from a Syrian refugee camp in 2019 but has held off repatriating any others until now.