Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government will not help or bring back Australian women and children held in Syria who are relatives of suspected ISIL fighters. He told ABC News, “We have a very firm view that we won’t be providing assistance or repatriation.” Albanese added, “We have no sympathy, frankly, for people who travelled overseas in order to participate in what was an attempt to establish a caliphate to undermine and destroy our way of life.” On Monday, 34 women and children with Australian citizenship were released from the Kurdish-controlled Roj detention camp in northern Syria. They were related to ISIL fighters. However, they were forced to return to the camp due to “technical reasons.” Kurdish escorts had no permission to take them into Syrian government-held areas. A spokesperson for Australian Minister Tony Burke warned that anyone returning to Australia who committed crimes would face legal action. “They will be met with the full force of the law,” the spokesperson said. The Roj camp director Hakmiyeh Ibrahim said the women and children were given to relatives from Australia who came to collect them. The group tried to travel to Damascus to leave for Australia but had to turn back halfway. Humanitarian group Save the Children Australia filed a lawsuit to repatriate 31 women and children, citing Australia's legal responsibility. The Federal Court ruled against this, stating Australia does not control their detention. Middle East analyst Rodger Shanahan told Al Jazeera that fear of radical beliefs and recent attacks in Australia have increased public resistance to repatriation. The Roj camp still holds many foreign nationals linked to ISIL. Similar camps, like al-Hol, are now controlled by Syrian government forces. Countries worldwide resist bringing back their citizens from these camps. Notably, UK-born Shamima Begum, once held in Roj camp, lost UK citizenship in 2019 and remains in the camp. Australia is following a strict no-repatriation stance under Albanese's leadership.