Police and youths clash in Australian riots
At least 12 people were arrested for assault and other offences and several were injured in alcohol-fuelled fights at Cronulla beach.
“People of Middle Eastern backgrounds that have been seen in the Cronulla area - a swarm of the crowd has approached these people with vile abuse,” said Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Goodwin.
In TV broadcasts, the rioters overwhelmingly were young white men. Many carried beer bottles, waved Australian flags and chanted anti-Middle Eastern slogans in response to reports that youths of Lebanese ancestry were responsible for a recent attack on two of the beach’s lifeguards.
After an uneasy peace had returned to Cronulla, police said youths damaged cars in nearby suburbs and there were unconfirmed reports of a man injured in a stabbing and police stopping cars full of youths of Middle Eastern appearance heading for the area.
Dozens of police in riot gear also were involved in a confrontation with youths in the Brighton-le-Sands neighbourhood close to Sydney’s Botany Bay.
In Cronulla, one white teenager had the words “We grew here, you flew here” painted on his back.
On the beach yesterday, someone had written “100% Aussie pride” in the sand.
Two paramedics were injured as they tried to get youths of Middle Eastern appearance out of the Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club, where they had fled to escape one group.
The mob broke the vehicle’s windows and kicked its doors as the paramedics tried to get the group out.
TV broadcasts showed a group of young women attacking another woman. Her ethnicity was not immediately clear.
Some rioters stomped on police vehicles and other cars. Officers fought back with batons and pepper spray.
Sydney has many beaches, but Cronulla is one of few that are easily accessible by train and often is visited by youngsters- many of Middle Eastern ethnicity - from the poorer suburbs of western and southern Sydney.
Area residents accuse the visitors of being disrespectful and sometimes intimidating to other beachgoers.
