Families of Australians trapped in a camp for Islamic State families in north-eastern Syria are pleading with the government to rescue them as Turkish and Syrian forces close in. The al-Hawl camp holds over 70,000 people, including 66 Australians—20 women and 44 children—among them a British boy whose family has appealed for help.
Two more Australian citizens, a mother and a seriously ill child with shrapnel wounds, have been discovered in the camp. Kamalle Dabboussy, whose daughter Mariam and three grandchildren are trapped there, said the child is ill and the mother has been beaten with metal poles by radicalised women. Another mother and child have been taken to a local hospital due to the child's dangerous illness.
Dabboussy's daughter Mariam sent a message: 'Please don't let us fall into the hands of the [Syrian] regime. We're asking just as humans, just as regretful people.' A second Australian woman, Zara Ahmed, said security is deteriorating, with a woman's mutilated body found in the toilets. 'I'm so scared,' she said.
Dabboussy visited Parliament House in Canberra to urge intervention, stating that a window remains open for safe rescue. Mat Tinkler of Save the Children Australia said families are willing to cooperate with authorities if repatriated. The Australian government has opposed rescue missions, with Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton calling some camp residents 'hardcore' and a potential threat.
