'Technical problems' cause 34 Australian jihadists to be returned by minibus to camp in Syria that freed them
Minibuses in a Damascus bus station (illustrative image), PHOTO: Hanohikinews / Alamy / Profimedia Images
Thirty-four Australians released earlier on Monday from a camp in northern Syria housing families of suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants have returned to the detention center for “technical reasons”, two sources told Reuters.
Hukmiya Mohamed, one of the directors of the Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been handed over to their family members who had come to Syria to claim them. They were put into small minibuses bound for Damascus before leaving the country under military escort.
However, the Australian families returned to Camp Roj shortly after leaving due to “technical issues” between the families and the government in Damascus.
The sources said the families would head back to Damascus later on Monday. “It is simply a procedural matter that will be resolved today,” a Syrian official said.
Camp Roj hosts over 2,000 people of 40 different nationalities, mostly women and children.
Thousands of people believed to have links to Islamic State militants have been held in Roj and a second camp, al-Hol, since the jihadist group was driven from the last territory it controlled in Syria in 2019.
Australia does not want to repatriate its citizens
The Australian government said in a statement that it would not repatriate people from Syria.
“Our security agencies have been – and continue to be – monitoring the situation in Syria to ensure they are prepared for any Australians who may attempt to return to Australia.
People in this group need to know that if they have committed a crime and return to Australia they will be met with the full force of the law.
The safety of Australians and protecting Australia's national interests remains the absolute priority,” the statement noted.
Syrian government forces seized control of large areas of northern Syria from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in January before agreeing to a ceasefire on 29 January.
Last week, the US military completed a mission to transfer 5,700 adult male Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq.
Mohamed, the director of the Roj camp, said the Kurdish-led Syrian authorities had previously facilitated numerous liberations from the camp in coordination with foreign governments.
Camp Roj is where Shamima Begum, dubbed the “bride of ISIS” after defecting from Britain in 2015 to join Islamic State, is being held. The British government revoked his citizenship in 2019, citing national security reasons.
“Shamima Begum's situation is the same as all the women in the Roj camp… If her country wants her back, our doors are open,” Mohamed said.
