The last of the Australian women and children at Syria's al-Hawl camp have reportedly been removed, in a development advocates have described as concerning and bittersweet.
According to sources on the ground, the remaining 13 women and 30-odd children have been moved from the camp, which is home to almost 70,000 refugees stranded after the conflict with Islamic State in Syria.
It's assumed the Australians will be moved to Roj, another camp also in northeast Syria, after other Australian women and children were taken there from al-Hawl last week.
Kamalle Dabboussy, whose daughter and grandchildren were being kept at al-Hawl, heard reports they had been taken from the camp in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
He described the news as bittersweet, with Roj said to be a better-run camp with improved facilities and medical support.
Mr Dabboussy said its location closer to the border with Iraq would also make repatriation to Australia easier.
"It's almost like the Kurdish administration is telling the government, 'Look, here they are, you can do something very easily without any risk to Australian personnel'," he told SBS News.
"They can be very easily repatriated and they can also be very easily supported whilst they are there."
But the move means Mr Dabboussy will lose contact with his daughter and grandchildren, and won't get much information about about their wellbeing.
Save the Children's Mat Tinkler (left) and Kamalle Dabboussy (right). Source: AAP
"The lack of contact will provide some distress and grief over the next period of time," he said.
Mr Dabboussy urged the Australian government to meet its responsibility towards the children at the camp and ensure their ongoing welfare and support.
He was joined by Save the Children and Human Rights Watch in calling for the Australian government to intervene to repatriate the Australian citizens.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been contacted for comment.
In a spokesperson for the Australian government said they were aware and monitoring the situation closely.
“Our ability to provide consular assistance and passport assistance to Australians in both Syria and Iraq remains extremely limited due to the exceptionally dangerous security situation,” the spokesperson said.
The government has expressed concern that women in the camp could retain radicalised views, with some former brides of Islamic State fighters.
Save the Children Australia deputy chief executive Mat Tinkler on Tuesday said the camps in northeast Syria were one of the worst places for a child.
He said Australia has a legal responsibility and a moral obligation to bring the children and their mothers back into safety.
"They're stuck in the middle of the desert. There's very limited access to healthcare, to other forms of support," Mr Tinkler told SBS News.
"We have children in these camps dying from treatable diseases all of the time.
"So the only safe place for these innocent Australian children is to be brought home to Australia as soon as possible."
Elaine Pearson, Australia's director at Human Rights Watch, said it was concerning the detainees had just been transported from one camp to another.
"Clearly this isn't solving the problem. These people are being held in arbitrary and unlawful detention ... and ultimately what's needed is a long-term solution," Ms Pearson told SBS News.
"Let's remember that 47 of these people are children, and children should not be punished for the crimes of their parents."
She said the women could be investigated and prosecuted in Australia if they had committed crimes.
"We also know that some of these women themselves were victims," she said.
"Some of them were duped, they were coerced or trafficked there, so each case really needs to be decided on a case-by-case basis."
