Australia to repatriate citizens from Syria camps: report

Australia is preparing a mission to rescue dozens of Australians trapped in detention and refugee camps in Syria, according to The Guardian. 

More than 20 women and 40 children - some the wives and children of Islamic State group fighters - are held within camps such as Al-Hol and Roj in Syria which are currently run by US-backed Kurdish forces. 

Most of the women in these camps claim they were coerced into travelling to Syria with their husbands who wanted to fight for IS, while many of the children - most of whom are under six - were born in the camps.

Big turnaround from #Australia — where the new Labour government has ordered for 20+ women & 40+ children currently in al-Hol & al-Roj camps in NE #Syria to be repatriated.

Another important move in the right direction for the #DetaineeDilemma crisis.https://t.co/ehGqNZ7LgX pic.twitter.com/4EsES7CwF2

— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) October 2, 2022

Australia will need to plan multiple operations to rescue all its citizens from the camps, according to the British newspaper, but hopes to repatriate more than 20 of them. 

Australia launched a secret mission in 2019 to rescue and repatriate eight orphans from the camps.

However, the government has since then refused to conduct any more similar operations citing security concerns. 

Most Australians, including 44 children, are detained at Roj camp near the Iraqi border. While safer than Al-Hol, malnutrition, disease, and violence remain common. 

Hundreds of citizens from other countries are also in these camps, many of which have reportedly been rescued. Kazakhstan has brought back 700 of its nationals, while Russia and Kosovo have returned more than 200 each. Germany has repatriated 91 of its citizens, while France has repatriated 86 and the US 26. 

The Islamic State group, a brutal militant organisation, captured vast swathes of Iraq and Syria. Children have suffered the most in these camps, according to reports. 

Mat Tinkler, the chief executive of Save the Children Australia, visited the camps in June and told The Guardian he was encouraged by reports of a rescue mission. 

"For more than three years, these children have been trapped in one of the worst places in the world to be a child and their situation has been growing increasingly desperate," he said.

Australia has been urged by the United States to repatriate its nationals from the camps.