Australia to Ban Citizens Returning from Camps in Syria

JAKARTA - Australian authorities on Wednesday said they would temporarily ban one of their citizens detained in a camp in Syria from returning to the country, under a rarely used authority aimed at preventing terrorist activity.

Thirty-four Australians at a northern Syrian facility housing the families of suspected ISIL militants are expected to return home, after their release was conditionally approved by camp authorities.

They were released on Monday before being sent back by Damascus for not having adequate documents.

Australian authorities have said they will not provide any assistance to those detained in the camp, and are investigating whether any individuals pose a threat to national security.

"I can confirm that one individual in this group has been subject to a temporary expulsion order, which was made on the advice of the security agency," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Wednesday, as reported by Al Arabiya from Reuters (18/2).

The security agency has not informed other members of the group of meeting the legal threshold for a similar ban, he added.

Introduced in 2019, the law allows for bans of up to two years for Australian citizens over the age of 14 who the government says pose a security risk.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday some members of the group, including children, had aligned themselves with "a brutal reactionary ideology and sought to undermine and destroy our way of life."

"It's a shame that children are caught up in this, it's not their decision, but it's their parents or their mother's decision," PM Albanese explained.

News of the families' possible return has caused controversy in Australia, where support for the anti-immigration One Nation party has risen in recent months.

A poll this week found One Nation's popular vote share hit a record high of 26 per cent, ahead of combined support for the traditional centre-right coalition currently in opposition.