Australian tourist town orders strict curfew after 150 person pub fight
Police made five arrests and seized 50 weapons
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Your support makes all the difference.A tourist town in Australia’s Northern Territory has imposed a two-week curfew after a huge brawl.
The restrictions have been launched in Alice Springs, a day after a mass brawl involving 150 people, many of them armed with weapons.
The curfew will be in force from 6pm to 6am local time for those under 18 years old in the centre of the town, which has a large population of Indigenous Australians and suffers from deep social divisions.
“We want people in Alice Springs to be able to walk down the street, feel safe, be able to go to the shopping centre, pick up their kids from school and not be concerned about their own safety,” Northern Territory (NT) Chief Minister Eva Lawler told a news conference on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s violence was sparked by the death of an 18-year-old man on March 20, which led to a feud between several local families and culminated in the brawl at a pub in the centre of the town, police said.
Police made five arrests and seized 50 weapons from those involved.
“The operation will be swift. We’ll identify who’s responsible and they’ll be delivered to the court where they can answer for their behaviours,” NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy told reporters.
A police report into the incident read: “Around 4pm, a licensed premises on Todd Street in Alice Springs was the scene of disorder as a group of people criminally damaged the property during a dispute with other people inside the building. Police attended the location and made arrests at the scene.
“Just before 7pm, police were called to an address in Sadadeen and encountered about 150 people, some going armed in public and engaging in violent conduct. Police units attended the incident, along with the community engagement team to engage and restore order. Police will allege a car was set alight as well as a mattress inside a nearby premises. Northern TErritory Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene and extinguished the fire.
“Police have arrested a 16, 18, 19, 31, and 50-year-old male for weapons and other offences relating to the two incidents.”
Alice Springs, a remote town in Australia’s vast Outback region some 2,000 km (1,243 miles) northwest of Sydney, is the gateway to major tourist attractions including the giant red sandstone monolith of Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock.
A map of Alice Springs:
A fifth of the 26,000 residents of Alice Springs are Indigenous Australians, who have been historically marginalised since the island continent was colonised by Great Britain in 1788.
The government has for years curbed alcohol sales in the town in a bid to reduce rampant violence and sexual abuse.
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