Trump administration urges countries to help citizens stuck in Syria as Australia maintains hardline stance

The Australians are the wives, widows and children of jailed or dead Islamic State fighters, and most have been held at al-Roj camp for more than six years. Photograph: Orhan Qereman/Reuters

The Trump administration says it is in “active communication” with countries, urging them to repatriate citizens stranded in Syria, while the Australian government maintains its hardline stance towards Australian women and children detained since the fall of Islamic State.

A group of four women, their nine children and grandchildren left al-Roj camp, in Syria’s north-east, last Friday in a bid to return to Australia, with reports on Thursday morning that the Albanese government’s refusal to help them has left them stuck in Damascus.