An Australian woman, aged 34, has been charged with allegedly joining the Islamic State and unlawfully entering a declared conflict zone after returning from a Syrian refugee camp in September. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) reported that the woman traveled to Syria between 2013 and 2014 with others, including a man believed to be imprisoned in the Middle East. She was detained by Kurdish forces in March 2019 and held in the Al-Hawl refugee camp. Following her return to Australia from Lebanon with another woman, investigations into both are ongoing. The woman is set to appear in a Melbourne court, facing charges that could lead to a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. This case follows the return of two other women charged with slavery-related offenses and a third charged with terrorism. The Australian government has faced criticism for its approach to citizens returning from conflict zones, asserting that it did not facilitate their travel back to Australia and emphasizing the legal limitations in preventing their re-entry.