Canberra working to bring Australian children of dead Isis fighters back home from Syria
- The group of children are being fetched home from a camp in northern Syria, said Prime Minister Scott Morrison
- ‘They can’t be held responsible for the crimes of their parents,’ Morrison said
“The opportunity now is for these young children who are coming back to Australia,” Morrison told reporters in the western city of Perth. “They can’t be held responsible for the crimes of their parents.”
An Australian government spokesman declined to confirm the identity of the children.
“They have got off to a horrible start in life as a result of the appalling decisions of their parents, and they’ll find their home in Australia and I’m sure they’ll be embraced by Australians,” Morrison said.
The children would stay in a safe location in Iraq until Zaynab Sharrouf gave birth and officials would run medical and psychological checks on the children, the Australian newspaper said.
Once in Australia, the Sharrouf children would be placed in the custody of their grandmother while the Rizvic children would resettle in Melbourne, the newspaper said.
Authorities in northeast Syria have urged Western countries to take back citizens recruited by Isis and their relatives.
Jihadist who posted photo of son holding up heads of Syrian victims killed
Morrison said there was no blanket policy about Australia’s repatriation of children stranded in Syria.
“Every single case is assessed on its merits. There are a range of processes one has to go through. Most significantly, the whole issue of identity.”