Four Australian women and nine of their children and grandchildren have left al-Roj camp in north-east Syria, seeking to return to Australia. The group is reportedly travelling across Syria by road to the capital Damascus, under the control of the Syrian government.
A further seven Australian women, and 14 of their children, remain in al-Roj camp, sources said on Saturday. The wives, widows and children of jailed or dead Islamic State fighters have been held at the camp for more than six years.
None have been charged with a crime, but one woman has been issued with a temporary exclusion order to prevent her return to Australia. The camp, controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), is being steadily shuttered, ahead of an expected handover to the Syrian government.
Conditions have steadily deteriorated: dysentery and influenza outbreaks are common, spreading quickly across populations living in close quarters in dilapidated tents, particularly among underdeveloped and undernourished children, and the camp is a regular target for IS incursions. The US has described the Syrian detention camps as “incubators for radicalisation”.
Most of the Australian women and children have been held in al-Roj camp since 2019. Some of the children were born in the camp.
