Australian families in convoy from Syrian camp warned they would be attacked unless they turned around

Exclusive: Government forces issued threat because Australian government failed to coordinate with them, official saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSyrian government officials warned a convoy of Australian families linked to Islamic State fighters that they would be fired upon if they continued towards Damascus last week, a Kurdish official said.A group of 34 Australian women and children, assisted by their relatives, left al-Roj detention camp on Monday 16 February under a Kurdish military escort, with the aim of reaching Damascus before flying to Australia.
But about 50km away from the camp, Kurdish security forces received a call from the government in Damascus, telling them that the convoy would be “struck” if they tried to reach territory controlled by Syrian government forces. Kurdish forces de-facto control much of north-east Syria, including the area by the Iraqi border where al-Roj is located, and the convoy needed to “cross” a checkpoint controlled by the Syrian government to reach Damascus. Continue reading...