In brief
- A Syrian official described the setback as "purely a procedural issue".
- The Australian government said in a statement it would not actively repatriate individuals from Syria.
Thirty-four Australians released on Monday from a camp in northern Syria holding wives and children of suspected militants from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group have returned to the detention facility due to what officials described as "technical" or procedural issues.
The group had initially been freed from Roj camp, according to Hukmiya Mohamed, co-director of the facility, who told the Reuters news agency they were handed over to family members who had travelled to Syria to secure their release. They boarded small buses under military escort towards Damascus ahead of plans to leave the country.
However, shortly after leaving, the Australians returned to the camp. Two sources told Reuters the move was due to "technical problems" between the families and authorities in Damascus.
A Syrian official described the setback as "purely a procedural issue" expected to be resolved later the same day, with the families planning to head back to Damascus.
Roj camp houses more than 2,000 people from around 40 nationalities, the majority women and children believed to be the wives, widows or children of dead or jailed IS fighters.
Thousands of people with alleged links to the IS group have been detained at Roj and at the larger al-Hol camp since the extremist group was driven from its final territorial stronghold in Syria in 2019 by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by a United States-led coalition.
The Australian government said in a statement it would not actively repatriate individuals from Syria. It added that security agencies are continuing to monitor the situation and are prepared for any Australians who seek to return independently.
"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," the statement said, adding that national security remains the overriding priority.
The developments come amid shifting control in northern Syria. Syrian government forces seized significant areas from the Kurdish-led SDF in January before a ceasefire agreement was reached on 29 January.
Separately, the US military recently completed the transfer of approximately 5,700 adult male IS group-affiliated detainees from Syria to Iraq, part of broader efforts to manage thousands of foreign fighters captured during the conflict.
Mohamed said Kurdish authorities have previously coordinated with foreign governments to facilitate releases from Roj camp.
The camp is also where British-born Shamima Begum is being held. The United Kingdom government revoked her citizenship in 2019 on national security grounds, a decision upheld by British courts. Mohamed said Begum's status is no different from that of other women detained at Roj.
"If her country wants her back, our doors are open," she said.
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