Members of the second cohort of ISIS-linked women and children have touched down in Australia.
Late on Tuesday, two women and seven children arrived at Melbourne Airport on QR904 about 4.30pm local time.
The group was escorted through a back door at the international airport where footage shows a scuffle breaking out.
A man believed to be Abraham Abbas, the brother of so-called ISIS bride Kawsar Abbas, appears to smack his hand into the camera of a Herald Sun photographer.
Mr Abbas assisted the previous cohort of women and children who arrived in Melbourne after helping them get out of Syria.
Just over an hour later, four brides and their six children arrived in Sydney from Doha about 5.35pm.
The group was reportedly allowed to leave the plane before other passengers were allowed to disembark. It’s understood their families were not at the airport to greet them.
The cohort of 19 women and children were the second group to leave Damascus and head for Australia after living in the Al-Roj refugee camp.
Save the Children Australia chief executive Mat Tinkler welcomed the group’s return in a statement released on Tuesday.
“These innocent children have endured years in dangerous and unstable conditions, and we have held serious concerns for their safety and wellbeing,” Mr Tinkler said.
“The political debate surrounding their future in Australia has been deeply disappointing. As Australian citizens, it was always a matter of ‘when’ these women and children came home, not ‘if’.
“While much attention has focused on the circumstances of the mothers, two thirds of the returning group are children. Australia must prioritise their safety, wellbeing and right to live in this country as Australian citizens.”
He also insisted that the charity didn’t play a role in the group’s return from northeastern Syria but said Save the Children had long supported the families in their advocacy efforts.
Australia’s government has warned the remaining women that they will face “the full force of the law” upon their return if they are believed to have committed any crimes.
When asked about the cohort’s return during parliament question time on Tuesday afternoon, the PM said he had “nothing but contempt” for ISIS sympathisers.
“I have nothing but contempt for anyone who has any sympathy for Isis, as I would hope everyone in this chamber would agree — this should not be an issue of partisanship,” he said.
“The government has provided no assistance for these people.
“Any breaches of the law will mean that these people will face the full force of the law to the extent available, upon the advice of the security agencies.”
It comes after three of the four women in the previous cohort were arrested as they arrived over serious allegations.
Kawsar Abbas, 53, and Zeinab Ahmed, 31, were arrested in Melbourne, while 32-year-old Janai Safar was arrested in Sydney.
Ms Abbas was charged with crimes against humanity, including enslavement, possessing a slave, using a slave and slave trading.
Ms Safar was charged with entering or remaining in a prohibited region and belonging to a terror group.
The group which flew out of Damascus on Monday evening had been spotted leaving the notorious northern Syria camp on a bus late last week.
One woman was banned from returning after a temporary exclusion order was imposed on her by the Albanese government in February.
