Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil announced on Saturday that the Australian government had repatriated four Australian mothers and their 13 children from a Syrian refugee camp.
The Liberal-National opposition has criticized the return to New South Wales state of scores of Australian women and children who are related to fighters from the so-called Islamic State group who have died or been imprisoned in Syria.
In 2019, Australia recovered eight children and the grandchildren of two deceased Islamic State fighters from a Syrian refugee camp; however, up until this point, no additional refugees have been returned.
O’Neil stated in a statement that “the choice to repatriate these women and their children was informed by individual assessments following thorough work by national security agencies.”
According to the Sydney Morning Herald and state broadcaster ABC, the women and children left the al-Roj refugee camp in northern Syria on Thursday afternoon and crossed into Iraq to catch a flight home.
According to O’Neil, the Labor-led government has prioritized the safety and security of “all Australians” including those involved in the repatriation, and it has “seriously evaluated a range of security, community, and welfare concerns in doing so.”
According to O’Neil, the repatriation came after such actions by the United States, Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, and Canada.
She stated that state and federal law enforcement agencies will keep looking into claims of unlawful activities. Some women, according to local media, could face charges for entering Syria illegally or for acts of terrorism.
O’Neil stated that any identified offences “may result in law enforcement action” and that New South Wales was offering “extensive support services” to facilitate the group in reintegrating into Australia.
The move, according to opposition leader Peter Dutton, is not in the best interests of the nation because the women had mixed with “those who detest our country, despise our way of life.”
The case against the group will not be discussed in detail, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who also stated that he was acting on national security advice.
According to an official transcript of his statements in Griffith, a small town in rural New South Wales, he declared, “The Australian government will always try to ensure that people are kept secure here in Australia, that is our goal.”
