Shafaq News- Damascus

Syrian Internal Security Forces blocked the transfer of 11 Australian families linked to ISIS to Damascus for repatriation after stopping buses carrying them from Roj camp in Derik, northeast of the country, a source told Shafaq News correspondent on Monday.

The families’ passports lacked entry stamps and that no official authorization had been issued to permit their transit to Damascus. An administrative source at the camp told our agency that three Australian relatives had arranged the issuance of passports and coordinated the families’ transfer to Damascus ahead of their planned return to Australia.

Earlier today, Hikmiya Ibrahim, head of Roj camp, stated to Shafaq News that the trip marked the first repatriation attempt in 2026 and involved 34 women and children who had been handed over to relatives for transfer to Damascus before completing travel procedures.

Roj camp in Derik is the second-largest facility housing families linked to ISIS after Al-Hol camp in Al-Hasakah province. It shelters 742 families totaling 2,201 individuals from around 40 nationalities, according to the camp administration.