Australia is working to extract women and children trapped in northeastern Syria, as Turkey prepares to launch a military incursion of the war-torn region.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne says evacuating the 65 women and children is anything but simple. Most of the children are aged under five.
"It is very dangerous, it is very complex, it is very time-consuming," she told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
"We are working with - and we have to work with - not just humanitarian agencies, but non-state forces and groups in the community that assist countries who are trying to repatriate their citizens."
