An Australian man trapped in a refugee camp under threat from Islamic State (IS) fighters has pleaded with the Australian Government to issue him travel documents so he can escape to safety.

Renas Lelikan, a journalist of Kurdish origin with joint Turkish-Australian citizenship, is living in the Makhmur camp in northern Iraq, which predominantly houses Kurdish refugees who have fled crackdowns by the Turkish government over the last 20 years.

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IS fighters have attacked the camp on a number of occasions over the last year, as the terror group has taken swathes of territory across the north of Iraq.

"It's been targeted by IS terrorist every week, sometimes twice a week," Mr Lelikan told the ABC.

"Yesterday they attacked the camp through Katyusha rockets, one woman has been killed, one kid and one guy was badly injured. No-one here in this camp is safe.

"I don't need to describe what IS is, the whole world knows.

"Wherever they go, they destroy everything. Anything that belongs to humanity, they are destroying."

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'I have rights, like any Australian citizen'

Mr Lelikan first contacted the Australian embassy in Baghdad in January, asking for a passport or temporary travel documents to allow him to return to Australia, but seven months later he has still not been issued with the necessary papers.

He had been told the passport application was being processed, but was recently sent a lengthy questionnaire by ASIO and told to fill it in and return it.

Mr Lelikan and his lawyers believe the ASIO questionnaire — and the failure to issue him with travel documents — stem from his alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a militant Kurdish group fighting against the Turkish state.

The PKK has been listed as a terror group by Australia and a handful of other countries, allegedly in response to pressure from Turkey rather than because it poses a risk to those countries.

Mr Lelikan was convicted in France in 2011 of activities relating to the PKK, but was given a three-year suspended sentence.

He then fled France using a relative's passport, but was forced to leave his Australian passport behind.

It is understood Mr Lelikan is not subject to any extradition request from France and the sole penalty for his leaving the country before the expiration of sentence is a five-year ban from entering France.

"Here the core of the matter is that I am an Australian citizen. I have rights, like any Australian citizen," Mr Lelikan said.

"In my life, I have fulfilled, observed and represented the interest of the people of Australia.

"I have lived in Australia [on and off] since 1997, during this time they can tell me whether I have caused any minor damage towards the interests of Australia, but there is none."

Mr Lelikan said if the Australian authorities suspected him of criminal activity in relation to his work with Kurdish separatists, they could question and prosecute him when he returned to Australia.

He said he posed no risk to Australia or its people, and that he simply wanted to continue his journalistic work.

"I have been working as a journalist [for the] past 15 years. I began working as journalist while I was in Australia in 2000," he said.

"I have written thousands of articles, writings and news for publications.

"My materials were all about my own personal observation about the current situation of the Middle East, predominantly about the struggle of Kurdish people, about their livelihood and inspirations."

IS groups attempted to infiltrate camp

Mr Lelikan said groups of IS fighters had tried to infiltrate the camp with the intention of enslaving Kurdish women and children, but had been pushed back by Kurdish fighters.

"Thousands of kids and women live here, it is more dangerous for them than for me," he said.

Mr Lelikan's lawyer, Jessie Smith from Stary Norton Halphen Lawyers, said there was no "positive obligation" under Australian laws for the Australian Government to provide someone in Mr Lelikan's position with new travel documents, but that there were obligations under international laws that Australia is a signatory to.

Ms Smith said she suspected the delay in helping Mr Lelikan stemmed from his political affiliations, and that it was concerning that the Australian authorities in Baghdad had not given any kind of timeframe for the documents to be issued.

"What we're asking for is the provision of a passport, or failing that, the provision of a temporary travel document so he can fly from Iraq to safety in Australia," she said.

"If there needs to be further investigation at that point, about his political allegiances, as a journalist, that can take place in Australia subject to Australian law.

"Mr Lelikan is Kurdish by ethnicity, he is someone who has had a long dedication to the Kurdish political cause, peacefully as a journalist.

"Having journalists on the ground, reporting the suffering of Iraqi refugees in a conflict zone shouldn't be seen as a problematic endeavour, it should be applauded.

"That's what he's been doing for a number of years, but it's got to the point where his health is at risk, his safety is at risk, and he should be allowed to return home.

"It would be at no expense to the taxpayer. All he's asking for is a temporary travel document to facilitate that journey."

Mr Lelikan's sister, Semra Demirbag, lives in Sydney along with a number of relatives.

She said she and her parents were desperately worried about her brother, who she last saw 10 years ago.

"I am wishing that he should be issued with a passport in the shortest time, we are all anxious and live with great fear," she said through a translator.

Mr Lelikan's mother died this week. His sister said their mother had a brain haemorrhage, which she believed was brought on by worrying about Mr Lelikan's safety.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade declined to comment on Mr Lelikan's case for privacy reasons.