ETHNIC gang violence has erupted on suburban Melbourne streets, with clashes between Sudanese migrants and Pacific islanders.
Senior police played down the extent of the violence, but local officers challenged the official line.
"They walk around in packs," said an officer who wanted to remain anonymous.
"It's a real problem at the moment for us."
Residents backed claims some Sudanese refugees had adopted a gang mentality that had led to ugly clashes with other migrant groups.
One Sudanese teenager was in a "precarious condition" in a Melbourne hospital last night after a savage gang-related attack in Noble Park in the city's south.
One officer told The Australian Sudanese gangs, with members aged 13 to 20, did not identify themselves by names but drug and alcohol abuse led to nasty street clashes.
"At times it's Sudanese fighting against Sudanese," he said.
Noble Park resident Harry Kanthalingam, who lives near where the latest attack took place, said his neighbours were terrified. "Sometimes we don't want to come out of our home at night time because we are scared," he said.
"A lot of (gang members) come here to the train station to drink and fight each other."
Woue, a 16-year-old Sudanese, said there were many fights taking place in the neighbourhood between Sudanese and Islanders. "They just like fighting," he said.
