Mass arrests in bid to stop brawls in outback township
More than two dozen men and teenage boys have been arrested in a troubled country community as police work to end weeks of violent clashes sparked by clan rivalries.
Ongoing clashes in Wadeye, using crossbows, spears, axes and machetes, have infuriated police with calls from some residents to move to the tribes’ homelands to ease clan tensions.
Many cars were burned and police vehicles were damaged in the brawls involving more than 100 people in the district, 395 kilometers southwest of Darwin.
Extra police have been deployed to Wadeye, where 28 men and teenage boys have been arrested in recent days, the youngest aged 14 and the oldest aged 42, and police are searching for other suspects.
Those arrested remain in police custody and charges are expected to follow.
Police seized weapons from the town, including crossbows, spears, bows and arrows, boomerangs, machetes, knives and axes.
A 34-year-old man was shot in the arm with a crossbow during a brawl in Wadeye on January 7 and was flown to Darwin with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police were surprised no other serious injuries were reported.
The district, with a population of approximately 2000, consists of 28 clans and seven language groups living in the traditional lands of Kardu Diminin.
Long-running clan disputes fueled social unrest in Wadeye, formerly the site of the Port Keats mission.
While the police used pepper spray to disperse the fighting crowd, stones were thrown at the police officers.
Acting Commander Terry Zhang said police cannot do this alone, and a collective response, including community leaders, is needed to end the violence.
“We will vigorously pursue those responsible for the unrest and violence in recent weeks,” he said in the statement.
Deputy Opposition leader Dheran Young wants the Northern Territory government to back a plan that would allow families to return to tribal lands and live in their own Country, easing clan tensions in Wadeye.
Following consultations with all 22 Traditional Owner groups in Wadeye, a report defending the plan was delivered to the government.
“We’re not going to fix this overnight. We need a 10-year plan to get people back to their hometowns and for Wadeye to be a service hub,” Mr. Young said.
