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Trump has decided to relax some sanctions, aiming to offer Syria “an opportunity for greatness.”
In November, Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House for discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump. Source: AP / AAP / Syrian Presidency Press Office
Meanwhile, the political shifts have yet to impact the daily existence of the Australian women and children residing in the al-Roj detention camp, located in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern region of Syria, an area beyond the Syrian government’s reach.
Last February, Dateline ventured to Syria and encountered Zahra Ahmad, who, along with her three sons, is part of a group of 37 Australians detained in al-Roj since the collapse of the Islamic State (IS) group’s self-declared ‘caliphate.’
Zahra and her children remain in the Kurdish-administered al-Roj detention camp. Credit: SBS Dateline / Colin Cosier
This camp serves as a holding area for individuals suspected of having connections to IS members, whether real or perceived.
The fight to free Australians held in Syria
Tinkler visited the detained Australians in 2022. A year later, his organisation tried to force the Australian government to repatriate the detained Australians through court action. But the Federal Court dismissed the case.
Save the Children Australia CEO Mat Tinkler travelled to al-Roj camp in June 2022. Credit: Supplied / Save The Children Australia
It’s not just the human rights organisation calling for Australia to take home its people. The US government wants it too.
“Repatriating vulnerable populations before they are radicalised is not just compassion —it is a decisive blow against ISIS’s ability to regenerate,” he said.
The US-backed Kurdish forces who detain the Australians have also long called for countries such as Australia to take their citizens back.
Australia’s approach to repatriating its citizens
Once elected in 2022, the Albanese government repatriated four women and 13 children from the camp. But it hasn’t explained why Australia has yet to bring the remaining 37 Australians home.
In early September, The Australian newspaper reported of a “top-secret operation” to return the Australians before Christmas, but this was denied by the Albanese government.
Why it’s so difficult to escape Syria
In March, the Syrian government signed a deal with the Kurdish authorities who control north-east Syria to merge their forces into the Syrian army, but the implementation has stalled over unresolved issues and continued clashes.
Detainees may not know Syria has a new president
Yusuf Zahab, a young Australian who is detained in a men’s prison, likely wouldn’t know that former Islamist rebels now control Syria either.
Yusuf Zahab, now in his 20s, sat down for an interview with SBS Dateline in 2024, his first with the Australian media. Credit: SBS Dateline
The now-22-year-old from Bankstown in Sydney was taken to Syria by his family when he was 12 and was thought to have died in prison until SBS Dateline found him alive in 2024.
