US state officials have lashed the Australian government’s “opposition” to repatriate Islamic State families.
Four women and nine children, all of whom are Australian citizens, are currently in Damascus, Syria.
In a letter dated February 18, a policy analyst from the US Department of State said America wanted to “press countries to repatriate, especially in light of recent developments in the region”.
“I see that the Australian government has dug in on its opposition to repatriating them from the camp,” the official wrote in a letter shared by the Sydney Morning Herald.
The email was sent when an attempt to get the group out of the al-Roj camp was denied and they were sent back.
“I can only imagine how frustrating their return to Roj is,” the official wrote.
The Australian National Imams Council, the Muslim Legal Network and the Lebanese Muslim Association have all pressured the Albanese government to allow the group to return to Australia.
It is understood the group left al-Roj camp in northeastern Syria on Saturday and have tickets for return flights.
The group had previously received passports through prominent western Sydney doctor Jamal Rifi.
They had been assisted by Dr Rifi, an Order of Australia recipient, who said in a letter in February that Australia would be “safer” if they were allowed to return.
“I said publicly that these children were the first victims of the terrible actions of their fathers,” Dr Rifi said, noting his medical treatment, and assistance for the group for more than a decade.
The Albanese government has denied assisting the group, but admitted that they were entitled under legislation to be repatriated.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously said the children were “victims of their parents’ bad choices, evil choices, to undermine Australia’s national interest”.
“My views have not changed with regard to people who went overseas and chose to support ISIS rather than Australia, when ISIS had an objective of setting up a caliphate to literally attack democracies like Australia,” he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
