AL-ROJ CAMP — The Trump administration is in active talks with foreign governments to repatriate their citizens from the al-Roj camp in northeastern Syria, including those with and without Islamic State affiliation, a senior administration official said. The camp, controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and funded by the United States, holds women and children who are wives, widows and children of jailed or dead Islamic State fighters.

"The Trump administration is in active communication with nations that have citizens in Syria, specifically within the Roj camp, to facilitate repatriation of both those with and without Isis affiliation," the senior administration official said. The U.S. government has consistently insisted that countries repatriate their citizens from the camp and has repeatedly offered to help with repatriations. The U.S. has also described al-Roj as an "incubator for radicalisation."

The Syrian Democratic Forces are shutting down al-Roj ahead of an expected handover to the Syrian government. Four Australian women and nine children left the camp on a Friday and traveled by road to Damascus in the custody of the Syrian government.

Syria's information ministry said the families were turned back before reaching Damascus International Airport because the Australian government had refused to receive them. "These families are still awaiting a solution, which can only be achieved through coordination with the relevant international parties," the ministry said. The families had been issued Australian travel documents while in north-eastern Syria, delivered through a lawyer by an unidentified individual.

A further seven Australian women and 14 of their children remain in the camp. Most of the Australians have been held there for more than six years, and some of the children were born in al-Roj and have never been outside it. Many of the women said they were coerced or tricked into entering Syria or visited neighboring countries for humanitarian reasons before being trafficked into Islamic State territory. None of the Australians has been charged with a crime, though one woman has been issued a temporary exclusion order seeking to prevent her return to Australia.

The Albanese government said the group of Australians in Syria was not wanted in Australia and warned that returning Australians would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law if they had committed an offense. "We will not repatriate, we will not assist these individuals," a government representative said, adding: "Whether they choose to, as citizens can, to try to come back to Australia is something that if they try on their own without any of our assistance."

The Australian government repatriated eight orphaned children from Syria in 2019 and four women and 13 children in 2022, but has since refused to repatriate any more of its citizens from Syria.