Australia blocks citizen’s return from Syria due to ‘links to Islamic State’

The Australian government has prohibited one of its citizens, who allegedly has ties to the Islamic State group, from returning to the country from a Syrian detention camp.

This individual was part of a larger group of 34 women and children who attempted to fly from Damascus to Australia on Monday. However, Syrian authorities reportedly turned them back to the Roj detention camp, citing "procedural problems."

Since the militant group lost control of its territory in 2019, Syria has held the wives and children of former Islamic State fighters from various countries in such camps.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed that Australian security agencies had assessed one member of the group as meeting a "risk threshold" for being barred entry, despite their citizenship. Mr Burke did not name the individual or specify the length of the ban.

“I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies,” Burke said in a statement.

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“At this stage, security agencies have not provided advice that other members of the cohort meet the required legal thresholds for temporary exclusion orders,” Burke added.

Burke has the power to use temporary exclusion orders to prevent high-risk citizens from returning to Australia for up to two years.

Australian governments have repatriated Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps on two occasions. Other Australians have also returned without government assistance.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday reiterated his position announced a day earlier that his government would not help repatriate the latest group.

“These are people who chose to go overseas to align themselves with an ideology which is the caliphate, which is a brutal, reactionary ideology and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life,” Albanese told reporters.

“We are doing nothing to repatriate or to assist these people. I think it’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this, that’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother,” Albanese added.