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In a significant development, Syrian Kurdish forces have facilitated the release of 34 Australians from a camp in northern Syria, where families of suspected Islamic State affiliates have been held. These individuals are now set to travel to Australia from Damascus.
According to Hukmiya Mohamed, a co-director at Roj camp, the 34 Australians were handed over to relatives who had journeyed to Syria to secure their release, as reported by Reuters.
The released individuals departed for Damascus in small buses.
Roj camp is currently home to over 2,000 people from 40 different countries, with the majority comprising women and children.
Since the Islamic State’s last stronghold in Syria was dismantled in 2019, thousands of individuals with alleged ties to the militant group have been detained in Roj and another camp, al-Hol.
Syrian government forces seized swathes of northern Syria from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic ‌Forces in January, before agreeing a ceasefire on 29 January.
The US military last week completed a mission to transfer 5700 adult male Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq.
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