A troubled remote aboriginal community has been rocked by 24 hours of violent unrest involving large groups fighting with makeshift weapons including window louvres.
The clashes erupted on Saturday in Wadeye, one of the largest aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and home to about 2,000 people from more than a dozen clans, and are a continuation of weeks of violence that began in early December.
Video shared on social media show a Land Cruiser being driven at crowds of people before crashing into a pole, and NT Police said on Sunday officers had responded to multiple large disturbances but had been unable to stop the fighting, and that two police cars were damaged by projectiles.
“Attempts by police to disperse the offenders have been ineffective, as large groups continue to reform and engage in further acts of violence and property damage,” police said.
4 weeks of unrest on the community of Wadeye pic.twitter.com/B1iJXKnq1k
— Action for Alice 2020 (@actionforalice) February 1, 2026
The Northern Territory Police Force are continuing to respond to violent disturbances in the community of Wadeye.
Over the past 24 hours, police have responded to reports of large groups fighting within the community with various makeshift weapons, including window louvres.… pic.twitter.com/ScpRIiNNfz— Action for Alice 2020 (@actionforalice) February 1, 2026
Acting Commander Terry Zhang said the ongoing violence had the potential to cause essential services in the town to be shut down.
“Public resources cannot be sustainably managed with this type of behaviour occurring. While police will continue to respond and prioritise the protection of the community, it is clear that law enforcement alone cannot address the underlying causes of these senseless acts,” he said/
“A collective response involving families, community leaders, and the broader community is essential to bring this behaviour to an end.
“Ongoing behaviour of this nature places the broader community, innocent people, and essential services at serious risk and could ultimately result in the loss or disruption of critical services.”
Last week police made 20 arrests in Wadeye after hundreds of aboriginals fought in the street with weapons including crossbows and cars were set alight.
Days before that a huge pile of weapons was seized after police spotted six males with “improvised weapons” walking near the Wadeye Health Clinic amid a suspected family feud.
The seizure followed another clash where 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.
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.
A clash between 30 people broke out in Yuendumu near Alice Springs on January 8, last week a man was wounded by an “edged weapon” during a 50-person brawl in Minyerri, and a day after that a group of about 100 people began fighting and throwing rocks at police in Santa Theresa.
Header image: Left, right the violence in Wadeye this weekend (Action for Alice 2020).
