Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1244 EAT on Thursday 7 May 2026

The group had been living in the al-Roj detention camp in northeastern Syria since 2019 and had become the focus of intense political debate in Australia, where the government had previously maintained it would not assist their return.

Three women and eight children — believed to be members of the same family — arrived in Melbourne late on Thursday afternoon, while another woman and her child landed in Sydney shortly afterwards.

Australian police said some of the women are expected to be arrested and charged upon arrival, while others remain under ongoing investigation.

According to local media reports, the group that arrived in Melbourne includes grandmother Kawsar Abbas and her adult daughters Zeinab Ahmed and Zahra Ahmed, along with their eight children.

Kawsar Abbas is married to Mohammad Ahmad, who operated a charity that Australian police suspected was used to funnel money to the Islamic State group.

Ahmad denied the allegations during a 2019 interview with Australia’s national broadcaster ABC after reporters located him in a Syrian prison.

The woman who arrived in Sydney has been identified by local media as Janai Safar. She was accompanied by her nine-year-old son, who was born in Syria.
Safar, a former nursing student from Sydney, travelled to Syria in 2015 and is reported to have married an Islamic State fighter.

In an interview with The Australian newspaper in 2019, Safar said travelling to Syria had been her own decision. She also said she feared returning to Australia because she could face arrest and risk losing custody of her child.

On Wednesday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed that some of the returning women would face arrest and prosecution upon arrival.

She said potential charges include terrorism-related offences, such as entering or remaining in declared areas under Australian law, as well as crimes against humanity, including alleged involvement in slave trading.

The 13 returnees are part of a wider group of 34 individuals believed to include wives, widows and children of Islamic State fighters. The group reportedly left the al-Roj detention camp in February before returning for what authorities described as “technical reasons”, after the Australian government declined to formally facilitate their repatriation.

Separately, one member of the broader cohort was issued a temporary exclusion order earlier this year, barring their return to Australia for up to two years. That individual is not among those who arrived on Thursday.

While transiting through Doha en route to Melbourne, the women told a reporter from Australia’s national broadcaster ABC that they were relieved to be returning home, describing Australia as “like paradise” in comparison to their time in Syria.

“We just want our children to be safe. It was like hell [in Syria] for them,” one of the women said.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government became aware of the planned return on Wednesday, when the group’s travel tickets were issued.

“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” he told reporters, warning that “any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law.”

The government has been preparing for the group’s possible return since 2014, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said, adding that there were “long-standing plans” in place to “manage and monitor them”.

The director-general of Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, Mike Burgess, said he was not “immediately concerned” about the group’s return, but warned that “they will get our attention, as you’d expect.”

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said children returning to the state would be required to participate in countering violent extremism programmes.

BBC

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