Australia Says 13 IS-linked Citizens to Fly Back from Syria

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Australian authorities said on Wednesday that 13 nationals linked to alleged members of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group are planning to return home from Syria, according to Deutsche Welle (DW).

The group consists of four women and nine children who had been living in the Roj camp in northern Syria. Local media reports indicate they are expected to arrive at airports in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the returnees would receive no government assistance, stressing that their situation reflects past choices.

“They made an appalling, disgraceful decision,” Burke told reporters, adding that authorities were alerted once travel bookings were made.

“The government’s complete lack of support for these individuals is a direct reflection of the decisions that they made,” he added.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said some of the returnees could face arrest and criminal charges upon arrival. Others may remain under investigation, while the children will be placed in community reintegration and support programs.

Police said evidence had been collected in Syria as part of investigations into whether any Australians had committed offences under domestic law, including travelling to prohibited areas or involvement in the slave trade.

Authorities have been preparing for such returns for years. A previous attempt in February by a larger group of 34 women and children to leave the same camp was blocked by Syrian authorities.

At the time, the Australian government also barred one woman from returning by issuing a temporary exclusion order, which can prevent high-risk citizens from re-entering the country for up to two years. Burke said the order remains in effect.

Between 2012 and 2016, a number of Australian women traveled to Syria to join their husbands who had joined IS. Following the collapse of the group’s self-declared caliphate in 2019, many were detained in camps, while some have since returned to Australia, according to media reports.

Burke noted there are “very serious limits” on the government’s ability to prevent Australian citizens from re-entering the country. He added that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have maintained contingency plans since 2014 to manage individuals linked to extremist networks.

Read: Canada Issues Updated Travel Warnings as Global Disruptions Intensify

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