Thirty four Australians released from Syrian camp holding IS-affiliated families
PUBLISHED : 16 Feb 2026 at 18:44
UPDATED : 16 Feb 2026 at 18:45
ROJ CAMP — Syrian Kurdish forces on Monday released 34 Australians who were detained in a camp holding families of suspected Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Syria, saying they would be flown to Australia from Damascus.
Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director of Roj camp, told Reuters that the 34 Australians had been handed to members of their families who had come to Syria for the release. They were put on small buses for Damascus ahead of their departure from the country. A military vehicle escorted the buses.
Roj camp holds more than 2,000 people from 40 different nationalities, most of them women and children.
Thousands of people believed to be linked to IS militants have been held at Roj and a second camp, al-Hol, since the jihadist group was driven from its final territorial foothold in Syria in 2019.
The Australian government said in a statement that it will not repatriate people from Syria.
“Our security agencies have been monitoring – and continue to monitor – the situation in Syria to ensure they are prepared for any Australians seeking to return to Australia.
“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 safety of Australians and the protection of Australia’s national interests remain the overriding priority.”
Syrian government forces seized swathes of northern Syria from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in January, before agreeing a ceasefire on January 29. The United States military last week completed a mission to transfer 5,700 adult male IS detainees from Syria to Iraq.
Mohamed said the Syrian Kurdish-led authorities had previously facilitated numerous releases from Roj, via coordination with foreign governments.
Roj camp is where British-born Shamima Begum is held. The British government took away her citizenship on national security grounds in 2019.
“Shamima Begum’s situation is the same as that of all the women in Roj camp … If her country wants her back, our doors are open,” Mohamed said.
Source – Bangkok News
