Thirteen Australian citizens with connections to the Islamic State terrorist organization are making plans to return home from Syrian detention facilities, according to government officials who announced Wednesday they will receive no help from authorities.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke explained that officials face “very serious limits” when it comes to blocking Australian citizens from returning to their homeland.
“The government is not assisting and will not assist these individuals. They made an appalling, disgraceful decision,” Burke stated during a press conference, noting the group consists of four women and nine children.
“The government’s complete lack of support for these individuals is a direct reflection of the decisions that they made.”
Burke warned that any person returning who is suspected of criminal behavior would “face the full force of the law without exception,” though he did not detail what specific charges might be filed.
Government officials have been making preparations for such situations for over ten years. Burke noted that law enforcement and intelligence services have kept emergency response plans in place since 2014 for handling people connected to extremist organizations.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett indicated that some returning citizens might face arrest and charges immediately upon their arrival, while others could remain under ongoing investigation. Children will be enrolled in community support and reintegration services.
Several Australian women made the journey to Syria during the period from 2012 to 2016 to reunite with their spouses, who had reportedly joined the Islamic State organization. After the terrorist group’s territorial control ended in 2019, many were held in detention facilities while some managed to return to Australia, based on local media coverage.
Al-Hol camp, located close to the Iraqi border, served as one of the primary detention centers housing family members of suspected Islamic State fighters who were captured during the American-supported military campaign against the extremist movement.
The United States started relocating detained ISIS members from Syria in January following the breakdown of the Kurdish-controlled Syrian Democratic Forces, which had been responsible for securing approximately twelve facilities containing ISIS fighters and related civilians, including foreign nationals.
By February, less than 1,000 families were still being held at detention centers in northeastern Syria that had been housing relatives of suspected Islamic State members.
