Australia won’t repatriate 34 women and children from Syria

Family members of suspected Islamic State militants who are Australian nationals board a van heading to the airport in Damascus during the first repatriation operation of the year, at Roj Camp in eastern Syria - (AP)

Australia will not repatriate 34 women and children from Syria, who are alleged to have ties to the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Tuesday.

The group, comprising 11 families, had been due to fly from Damascus but Syrian authorities turned them back to the Roj camp in northeast Syria on Monday, citing "procedural problems."