A second group of Australian women and children with links to the terrorist group Islamic State have left a refugee camp in Syria.
The group departed the Al-Roj camp on Thursday, according to the ABC, ahead of their reported return.
It is expected they will head towards the capital Damascus for flights returning to Australia, but the timing remains unclear.
It comes after a group of four women and nine children with ties to Islamic State arrived in Australia earlier in May after leaving the same refugee camp.
Three of the women in that group were arrested upon their arrival and remain in custody.
Two are facing charges relating to slavery, and the other was charged with joining a terrorist organisation and travelling to a declared conflict zone.
Federal minister Tanya Plibersek said the second group would face repercussions on their return.
“They’ll face the same consequences as the first group,” she told ABC TV on Friday.
“If there are any crimes that they’re accused of, they’ll be taken into custody and treated with the full force of the law.”
It is understood seven women and 14 children were remaining at the Syrian Al Roj camp following the departure of the first group.
One of the women has been given a temporary exclusion order, which banned them from entering Australia for a two-year period on national security grounds.
The group can to return to Australia from the refugee camp as they are citizens, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted no support has been given to them.
“The US State Department has been very keen on people leaving those camps,” he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
“There wasn’t a government person on the plane (with the previous cohort), because we weren’t providing any assistance, and won’t.”
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
