BEIRUT (AP) — A group of Australian women and children who left a camp in Syria that houses people with alleged ties to Islamic State group militants are stuck in the country because Australian authorities have refused to allow their return, Syrian officials said Wednesday.
Thirteen women and children from four families last week left Roj camp, a remote facility near the border with Iraq that houses relatives of suspected militants, on Friday and headed to Syria's capital.
An official at the camp at the time said that the families were expected to remain in Damascus for around 72 hours and then be sent to Australia.
In response to an Associated Press inquiry about their status, Syria's information ministry said in a statement that after the families left the camp, the foreign ministry was informed that "the Australian government had refused to receive them.”
They were turned back before reaching Damascus International Airport, the information ministry's statement said.
“These families are still awaiting a solution, which can only be achieved through coordination with the relevant international parties.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a news conference on Wednesday that “we are providing no support for repatriation and no assistance for these people.”
At a separate news conference in Beijing, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Wednesday said that her government has made “very clear that we are not assisting in their repatriation.”
Syria's information ministry said that the families, through a lawyer, had obtained passports that were delivered by an “individual” that it didn't identify while they were still in northeastern Syria in an area under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF.
A Lebanese-Australian doctor, Jamal Rifi, previously told Australian media that he was helping to coordinate the repatriation effort. Rifi couldn't be reached for comment.
A previous attempt to return 34 women and children to Australia from the camp in February was turned back by Syrian authorities.
Former IS fighters from multiple countries, along with their wives and children, were held in a network of camps and detention centers in northeast Syria after the militant group lost control of its territory in Syria in 2019. Though defeated, the group still has sleeper cells that carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq.
The larger al-Hol camp has now been closed down, and thousands of suspected IS militants previously held in Syria were transferred to Iraq by the U.S. military to stand trial there.
The moves came after fighting between government forces and the SDF in January. Government forces seized much of the territory formerly held by the SDF. Amid the chaos, many detainees fled al-Hol and some prisoners escaped from a detention center.
Australian governments have repatriated Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps on two occasions. Other Australians have also returned without government assistance.
Associated Press writers Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia and E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing contributed to this report.
A soldier stands guard as vehicles arrive at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants, to transport Australian families to Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
A brick wall surrounds a tent camp housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
Members of Australian families at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, housing people with alleged ties to Islamic State militants, prepare to leave for Damascus as part of a second repatriation effort by Syrian authorities, at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three years after Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to the NBA championship, the peak looked awfully distant for the team from the Mile High City and the three-time MVP award winner.
Ousted in six games by the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first-round series, the Nuggets trudged into the offseason with plenty of questions to answer about their ability to remain a true title contender in the stacked Western Conference. For the first time in four years, the Nuggets failed to make it to May.
“We just lost in the first round, so I think we are far away,” said Jokic, who had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the 110-98 loss to the Timberwolves on Thursday night.
Four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert deftly neutralized Jokic during the series, even dominating him at times with his long arms, relentless effort and superb positioning.
Jokic found some rhythm and spark in the last two games, but his sidekick Jamal Murray had a rough series. The first-time All-Star, who played in 75 games during the regular season for his most in eight years, was similarly smothered by Timberwolves villain Jaden McDaniels. Murray went just 4 for 17 from the floor and with a game-worst minus-18 rating.
“When I get the looks that I need, they don’t go down,” Murray said. “So that’s the frustrating part, not showing up when my team needed me the most tonight. I feel like if I would’ve played a little bit better we would’ve had that game.”
Missing forwards Aaron Gordon to a calf injury for three of the six games and Peyton Watson for the whole series to a hamstring strain sure didn't help. Cameron Johnson made a late push from the 3-point line, pitching in 27 points in Game 5, but there wasn't enough production beyond Jokic and Murray in this series for the Nuggets to advance, even against a Timberwolves team that was severely short-handed in the backcourt. And their pick-and-roll synergy was largely absent too.
“They were missing a bunch of guys tonight, and they still won. So did we need them? Definitely, but if they are not here, we cannot think, ‘If, if, if, if,’” Jokic said.
After leading the league in offensive rating during the regular season and being held under 100 points only twice, the Nuggets failed to hit triple digits against the feisty Timberwolves three times in the series.
“It’s a miss-or-make league. We couldn’t make any shots," Jokic said. “I’m confident in my and Jamal's two-man game.”
Jokic, who will enter his 12th season in the league in 2026-27, can sign another maximum contract extension this summer. He didn't hesitate when asked about his interest in reupping his commitment.
“I still want to be Nuggets forever,” he said.
Coach David Adelman doesn't have the same security, after finishing his first full year on the job. Might changes be in the works in Denver?
“That’s not my decision,” Jokic said. "Definitely, if we were in Serbia, we would all be fired.”
But in all seriousness, the Joker doubled down on his support of Adelman.
“It’s not his fault we couldn’t rebound. It’s not his fault we couldn’t catch the ball very well. There is nothing to blame David Adelman. It was all us,” Jokic said.
The Nuggets closed the regular season on a 12-game winning streak.
“Very disappointing end to the season. I'm the head coach. I take responsibility for things that didn't go well here,” Adelman said.
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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark get into an altercation during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark (22) get into an altercation during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert hug after Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark (22) get into an altercation during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) looks on during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
