AL-MALIKIYAH, SYRIA — A group of 11 Australian women and 18 children detained at Roj camp in northeastern Syria briefly left the facility in February 2026 after obtaining temporary passports but were turned back at a Syrian government checkpoint and returned to the camp. The group's departure had not been coordinated with the Syrian government.

Roj camp, located in Kurdish-held territory in northeastern Syria, houses wives and children of ISIS members. Almost all of the roughly 2,300 residents are foreigners, and about 60% are children, according to Save the Children. The camp consists of rows of tattered plastic tents pitched on bare earth and is entirely dependent on aid.

Roj camp co-chair of administration Mila Ibrahim said the group's departure was permitted on humanitarian grounds. "It was an exceptional case because the family members approached us and said they had discussed with the Australian government and they managed to get temporary passports for their family members. This is why, based on humanitarian reasons, we said since they have the passports it's fine to take them." Ibrahim said.

One Australian woman in the group, who spoke on the advice of lawyers, described the moment they attempted to leave. "Every night when we put them to sleep, we tell them that one day it will be our last night here. And that night came and we picked our kids out of bed," she said. Her daughter, who was born in the camp, said "Mum, it's so sweet" when she first breathed air outside the camp's perimeter.

The Australian government called the families a potential security risk and said it would not help them return. Australian and other detainees at Roj camp seeking repatriation have said they are prepared to face justice in their home countries. None of the foreign residents of the camp or prison inmates accused of being ISIS fighters have been charged with any crime, as the breakaway Kurdish-led region does not have an internationally recognized justice system.

The situation at Roj camp grew more precarious in early 2026. In January, forces commanded by the new Syrian government advanced into parts of northeastern Syria. In February, the al-Hol camp for ISIS families was closed during fighting between Syrian government forces and Syrian Kurdish fighters. Aid to Roj camp was disrupted after cuts by USAID in 2025 and by the February 2026 fighting.

The camp operates under Kurdish-led forces that broke away from Syrian regime control in 2012 and now face incorporation into Syria's Arab-led federal government. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a former al-Qaeda commander who renounced the ideology before taking power, and a substantial number of Syrian government security forces are Sunni Muslim former fighters with Islamist militant groups.

ISIS took over large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and more than 50,000 foreigners traveled to the caliphate it declared from its base in Mosul. After being pushed out of Iraq by U.S. and Iraqi forces, ISIS made its last stand in Syria. In 2019, U.S. and Syrian Kurdish forces recaptured the last territory held by ISIS, and fighters who survived the final battle in Baghuz, Syria, were imprisoned while their families were detained.