A convoy of 34 Australian prisoners released on Monday from Syria’s ISIS-linked Al Roj camp was turned back because of a breakdown in co-ordination between the Syrian government and local Kurdish-led forces, Kurdish officials told The National.
The lapse may be a sign of division between Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces, despite a January agreement that halted weeks of fighting and established a cautious integration process.
The Australians, children among them, were scheduled to return home from Al Roj, which holds hundreds – mainly women – suspected of collaborating with ISIS.
But “the Syrian transitional government returned them under the excuse that there had been no prior co-ordination with them about it,” said Kurdish official Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees camps for internally displaced people and ISIS detention centres.
“For now the detainee families are back in the camp. We had to return them, we had no other option.”
The detained had been transferred to family members who travelled to Syria to arrange their release and were no longer under SDF jurisdiction, Mr Ahmed said.
“We decided to hand the Australians over in an organised way because their families were co-ordinating their return,” he said. “The families of the prisoners should discuss their repatriation with the government, or their government should co-ordinate with the families.”
Mr Ahmed added that neither the SDF nor political authorities affiliated with it would co-ordinate directly with the Syrian government on the detained. “We can’t take responsibility in case they escape or are taken to other areas,” he said.
Further complicating the effort to return the 34, 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 statement said.
Kurdish officials in north-eastern Syria have warned since last month that the security breakdown resulting from clashes between government forces and the SDF would create a vacuum.
Tens of thousands of suspects and their families have escaped – and continue to escape – from the infamous Al Hol camp since January’s fighting.
“It happened in a completely disorganised way and there are major security risks. We don't want the same thing to happen in Al Roj,” Mr Ahmed said.
He said that similar instability could manifest at Al Roj camp if clashes with government-aligned groups reach the area.
“It’s under control but if the situation gets worse and government-affiliated factions or the tribes attack the camp this will affect the security situation and we may not be able to keep it under control,” Mr Ahmed said.
Since the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019, Al Hol and Al Roj have become sprawling detention sites for foreigners whose governments are reluctant to repatriate nationals suspected of affiliation with the extremist group.
Save the Children said in January that 20,000 children in north-eastern Syria’s detention camps risk being “harmed, exploited or coerced by armed actors” as the security situation deteriorates, and called on governments to repatriate their nationals from the camps.
