Shafaq News- Damascus

On Monday, 11 Australian families linked to ISIS departed the Roj camp in northeastern Syria, heading to Damascus before repatriation to Australia, marking the first transfer of its kind this year.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Hikmiya Ibrahim, head of the Roj camp, confirmed that the group included 34 people —all women and children— who were handed over to the Syrian Ministry of Defense as travel arrangements to their home country are finalized.

The transfer comes amid repeated appeals from the camp administration and the Kurdish-led Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) for foreign governments to repatriate their nationals. “Cooperation has remained limited,” Ibrahim noted, citing that only 16 of the 742 families residing in the camp were returned in 2025.

Roj camp, located in Derik, stands as the second-largest camp for families connected to ISIS after Al-Hol camp in Hasakah. It currently hosts 2,201 people from around 40 nationalities, according to camp authorities.