(Sydney Morning Herald) Deradicalisation experts have backed the Albanese government’s plan to rescue dozens of Australian relatives of former Islamic State fighters from Syria, even as the Coalition said it feared the repatriation effort would put Australian lives at risk.
About 20 Australian women and more than 40 children have been living at the al-Hawl and al-Roj camps in Syria’s north-east since the fall of the Islamic State “caliphate” in early 2019.
The plan to begin repatriating the women and children to Australia has been confirmed by security sources, but not by the government.
Sources familiar with the operation said most of the women and children were expected to be resettled in NSW as many of their family members are living in Sydney.
