<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A group of </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="" title="Australian"><span>Australian</span></a><span> citizens has left a camp in north-east </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/syria" rel="" target="" title="Syria"><span>Syria</span></a><span> housing people with alleged ties to </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/islamic-state" rel="" target="" title="Islamic State"><span>Islamic State</span></a><span> militants to begin the journey to their home country, part of an ongoing repatriation process.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Relatives of the 34 individuals, from 11 families, travelled from Australia to accompany them, said Hakmiyeh Ibrahim, the director of the Roj camp. They will make their way to the Syrian capital, Damascus, and then fly to Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Roj camp houses about 2200 people from about 50 nationalities, mostly women and children, who have supposed links to the extremist group.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/gus-lamont-update-police-return-to-oak-park-station-in-search-for-missing-boy/7d48bf8c-b1ca-4050-ab06-1cf99fc3abd1"><strong><span>Cops searching for Gus charge grandparent with unrelated offences</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Most in the camp are not technically prisoners and have not been accused of a crime, but they have, in effect, been detained in the heavily guarded camp, controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The most well-known resident of the Roj camp, Shamima Begum, was 15 when she and two other girls fled from London in 2015 to marry IS fighters in Syria.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Begum married a Dutch man fighting for IS and had three children, who all died. She recently lost an appeal against the British government's decision to revoke her UK citizenship.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/australian-citizens-with-alleged-is-ties-depart-syrias-roj-camp-for-repatriation/c0a6d761-598e-4a1a-8cbd-9cb6891cd6e0" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ibrahim, the camp director, said 16 families were repatriated last year, including German, British and French nationals. In 2022, three Australian families were repatriated.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Australian government said it "is not and will not repatriate people from Syria".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"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," a spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement released to media outlets tonight.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/accc-court-updates-coles-accused-of-utterly-misleading-grocery-prices/70a3d08c-7dec-40ad-ae10-b31e00875991"><strong><span>The 296 days Coles has been asked to explain</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"People in this cohort need to know that if they have committed a crime and if they return to Australia they will be met with the full force of the law. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The safety of Australians and the protection of Australia's national interests remain the overriding priority."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The fate of the Roj camp and the similar but larger al-Hol camp has been a matter of debate for years. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Human rights groups have cited poor living conditions and pervasive violence in the camps, but many countries have been reluctant to take back their citizens who are detained there.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/which-states-will-miss-out-on-an-anzac-day-public-holiday/0b9ee205-3d51-466f-ab82-d2faca32f65c" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Millions miss out on extra day off: public holiday divides</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Government forces took control of al-Hol camp last month amid fighting with the SDF that led to state forces seizing more than the territory in northeast Syria previously controlled by the Kurdish forces.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The UN refugee agency said Sunday that a large number of residents of al-Hol camp have left and that the Syrian government plans to relocate those who remain.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Separately, thousands of accused IS militants who were held in detention centres in northeastern Syria have been transferred to Iraq by the US military to stand trial there.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></strong></em><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a><em><span></span></em></li></ul></div></div>