All members of the group have successfully acquired Australian passports, marking a significant step in their journey home.
These individuals, who are all Australian citizens, are anticipating their departure from Damascus within the next few days. Their return, however, is subject to several procedural hurdles.
Before leaving Syria, the group must complete necessary security clearances in the capital. According to an army official, this process is expected to take approximately 72 hours from the time they exited the camp last Friday.
Even after these checks in Damascus, they might face additional security screenings during their flights back to Australia. The specifics of their travel arrangements, including stop-over locations, remain undisclosed at this time.
There is also the possibility that some members of the group could face criminal charges upon their return.
This group of 13 is part of a larger contingent of 34 Australians, which includes 11 women and 23 children, who had initially sought to make their way back to Australia in February.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke issued a temporary exclusion order on the woman, which prevents high-risk citizens from returning to Australia for up to two years.
The exclusion orders were introduced in 2019 to prevent defeated Islamic State fighters from returning to Australia.
There are no public reports of an order being issued before.
Burke said at the time that security agencies had not advised that any of the other Australians in the group warranted an exclusion order and they couldn’t be made against children younger than 14.
However, the federal opposition is calling for most exclusion orders to be issued.
”We are talking here about people who deliberately chose a terrorist organisation ahead of Australia,” Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Ted O’Brien said.
“They chose violence over peace.”
Defence Minister Richard Marles said he has the utmost confidence in the nation’s security agencies to bar anyone who poses a threat.
”Our intelligence agencies and our security agencies are always alert to anyone who might come into the country and we have utter faith in respect of what they do and of course they monitor people where that is appropriate,” he said.
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