Julie Bishop declares Australia's first no-go zone: Syria's Al-Raqqa province

The Australian government has declared the first “no-go zone” under its new counter-terrorism laws, warning citizens face up to 10 years’ jail for travelling to Al-Raqqa province in Syria without a legitimate purpose.

The foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, said the listing sent a strong message to Australians who sought to participate in the Syrian conflict and she was considering making further declarations.

Bishop said Al-Raqqa province was the “de facto capital” of Islamic State (Isis), from which its operations were largely directed. It would be an offence for an Australian citizen or resident to enter or remain in the area without a legitimate purpose.

Tough new counter-terrorism laws passed both houses of the Australian parliament in October with bipartisan support. One of the most controversial elements was the provision allowing the foreign affairs minister to declare an area in a foreign country if satisfied that a listed terrorist organisation was engaging in hostile activity there.

The laws contained exceptions for people who travelled to the area solely for one or more legitimate purposes listed in legislation, including making a bona fide visit to a family member, providing humanitarian aid, or working as a professional journalist.

Bishop said Isis was “engaging in significant hostile activities in Al-Raqqa, including the murder of opponents, the rape and enslavement of women, and the intimidation and subjugation of the civilian population to their brutal control”.

“It is one of the world’s most deadly and active terrorist organisations, and has been listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia under its various names since 2005,” Bishop said.

“Any Australians who are currently in Al-Raqqa province without legitimate purpose should leave immediately. The travel advice for Syria on the Smartraveller website has been updated.”

After Bishop announced the first such declaration to parliament on Thursday, the Labor opposition signalled its support for the decision while emphasising the need for transparency.

Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, said the opposition had been “extremely, extremely concerned about the reports of human rights violations in Al-Raqqa” and the increasing number of Australians travelling to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside Isis.

“We also know sadly that there are Australians in senior positions in this organisation in this area, and of course there is no good reason for any Australian to be on ground in this area, particularly not in the positions that we see in this organisation,” Plibersek said.

But the Greens argued the “draconian new laws” were unnecessary because it was already a crime to engage in a conflict overseas.

The Greens senator Penny Wright said the no-go zone declaration “criminalises perfectly legitimate travel and has the same effect as reversing the onus of proof”.

“Anyone who travels to the Al-Raqqa province, even under the listed exemptions, will have a very real legal challenge of proving that they went there for one sole purpose,” she said.