‘ISIS brides’: Who they are and why their return to Australia is unravelling

All eyes are on the Albanese government as Syria releases the Australian women and their children.

A planned departure of 34 Australians from a Syrian detention camp unravelled on Monday when their convoy was halted and returned.

The convoy left Roj camp under military escort, bound for Damascus, in what appeared to be a breakthrough after nearly seven years in detention.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: ISIS families turned back from Syrian camp

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About 50km into the journey, the convoy was stopped and ordered back to the camp.

Kurdish authorities had earlier announced the group’s release, saying they were being transferred toward Damascus before travelling on to Beirut to seek assistance from the Australian embassy.

Syrian officials described the reversal as being due to “technical reasons” and procedural issues involving the Damascus government.

“It’s purely a procedural issue to be resolved,” one Syrian official said.

Officials suggested the issue may have involved travel permissions between Kurdish-controlled territory and areas overseen by the Syrian government.

So, who are these women and why did the plan unravel?

Who are the ‘ISIS brides’?

The term “ISIS brides” is used to describe foreign women who travelled to Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2019 to live under Islamic State rule.

Many Australians who made the journey were young women who married ISIS fighters once there. Others travelled with husbands who later joined the extremist group.

When the Islamic State collapsed in March 2019, Kurdish-led forces captured thousands of foreign women and children.

They were placed in sprawling detention camps in northeastern Syria, including Roj and the larger al-Hol camp.

Australians held in Syria were on their way to being released before being turned back. Credit: EPA PHOTO

The Australians still held in Roj are believed to be the partners or widows of jailed or killed ISIS members.

Many of the children are Australian citizens. Some were born in Australia before their parents left, while others were born in Syria during the conflict.

Roj camp currently holds more than 2000 people from about 40 countries, the majority women and children.

Why hasn’t Australia brought them home?

After the fall of ISIS, countries around the world faced the question of whether to bring their citizens home.

Australia has taken a cautious and politically sensitive approach.

Successive Coalition and Labor governments have argued it is too dangerous to send Australian officials into unstable parts of Syria to conduct repatriations.

Instead, the federal government has maintained it will not organise returns but is legally obliged to provide passports if Australian citizens make it to an embassy.

Australians held in a Syrian camp for suspected relatives of IS fighters being released from Roj camp. Credit: Sunrise

In 2019, the Morrison government repatriated eight orphaned children and a newborn baby.

In October 2022, the Albanese government brought back four women and 13 children.

Since then, the remaining group has largely stayed in detention.

In September last year, two women and four children reportedly paid smugglers to escape al-Hol camp and made their own way to Lebanon before travelling on to Australia.

The Albanese government has reiterated it is not facilitating the operation.

“Our security agencies have been monitoring — and continue to monitor — the situation in Syria to ensure they are prepared for any Australians seeking to return to Australia,” the government said.

The government has warned any adult who has committed offences would face the “full force of the law” if they return.

The question of whether to bring ISIS-linked Australians home has long been contested. The US has urged countries to repatriate citizens from the camps, warning they can become “incubators for radicalisation”, while Canberra has maintained “the safety of Australians and the protection of Australia’s national interests remain the overriding priority”.

Why is leaving Syria so difficult?

Northern Syria is politically fragmented.

Kurdish-led authorities control the camps where ISIS-linked detainees are held. But travel toward Damascus requires co-ordination with the Syrian government.

Earlier this year, Syrian government forces seized swathes of territory from Kurdish-led forces before agreeing to a ceasefire on January 29.

Any cross-territory transfer requires approvals from multiple authorities.

That shifting control may have contributed to the convoy being turned back.

The region remains volatile. Just last week, the US military completed a mission transferring 5700 adult male ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq.

For the 34 Australians, what briefly appeared to be the end of years in detention has become another delay.

It remains unclear when, or if, the group will attempt the journey again.