More violent unrest has erupted in the troubled remote aboriginal community of Wadeye in the Northern Territory, with police making 20 arrests after hundreds fought in the street.
The Northern Territory Police Force said on Wednesday officers responded to multiple large disturbances, involving up to 100 people at a time, with some combatants allegedly armed with blunt and edged weapons.
Two vehicles were set alight on Tuesday night and some individuals were seen in possessions of crossbows and other weapons, causing police to deploy additional officers to the community.
Police said on Wednesday no serious injuries have been reported, up to 20 people have been arrested in recent days, and “local police, Aboriginal Liaison Officers and community leaders are continuing to engage to restore calm and maintain community safety”.
A huge pile of weapons was seized in Wadeye last week after police spotted six males with “improvised weapons” walking near the Wadeye Health Clinic amid a suspected family feud.
Officers directed them to stop, but one of the men allegedly aimed a bow and arrow at police. Officers used OC spray and the men fled into nearby bushland.
Police then searched multiple properties and seized weapons including spears, bows and arrows, crossbows, boomerangs, axes, machetes, a meat cleaver, a baseball bat, star pickets and iron bars.
Acting Senior Sergeant Jason Canning said, “We will continue working closely with community leaders and families involved.
“We have been in close contact with relevant stakeholders, including Traditional Owners and members of the families who are currently feuding, and there is a shared expectation that these violent disturbances must come to an end.”
Wadeye, which is one of the largest aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and home to about 2,000 people from more than a dozen clans, has been rocked by multiple violent disturbances in recent weeks.
During one clash a man was shot with a crossbow during a fight between 15 people that was linked to unrest involving about 100 people, some armed with edged weapons, that broke out a couple of days earlier.
Police said up to 100 people gathered in the area, some armed with blunt and edged weapons, and three cars were set on fire.
Violence also erupted in Wadeye in early December on the eve of a No More march against domestic, family and sexual violence.
Hundreds of aboriginals then fought running battles in Maningrida in Arnhem Land between January 1 and January 4, and in nearby Ramingining up to 40 people fought with blunt and edged weapons, including spears, just before Christmas, and a clash between 30 people broke out in Yuendumu near Alice Springs on January 8.
Header image: Wadeye Police Station (9News).
