Eleven
people were injured and seven were arrested in a second night of racial violence in Australia's biggest city, Sydney,
police said today.
Vehicles and shops were trashed as carloads of men swept into the suburb of Cronulla in apparent retaliation for attacks by mobs of whites on
people of West Asian appearance at the beach there on Sunday.
Residents said around 30 to 40 cars full of young men armed with baseball bats and crowbars drove through the suburb, smashing shop windows and parked cars.
Gunshots were heard but there were no immediate reports of any casualties.
In the adjacent suburb of Brighton-Le-Sands, crowds threw rocks at police cars and passing motorists before dispersing as riot police converged on the area.
In the mainly Muslim suburb of Lakemba, about 500 young people blocked roads near the
local mosque after evening prayers, believing an attack was imminent. They later dispersed, some hurling rocks at police.
Prime Minister John Howard and Islamic community leaders have condemned the violence, in which more than 30 people were injured and 16 arrested on Sunday.
The rampage began when more than 5,000 people gathered at Cronulla beach after e-mail and mobile phone messages called on local residents to beat-up "Lebs and wogs" -- racial slurs for people of Lebanese and West Asian origin.
The move followed assaults the previous weekend on two white volunteer lifeguards at the beach, which is a popular gathering place for Muslims from inner-city suburbs, and allegations that local women were being harassed.