is this multiculturalism at work

I dont want to jump the gun but friends of mine in southern climes are continually telling me that the violence, drugs and gang behaviour that is increasing at what they call "a crazy rate" is a function of the ethnic mixes that are congregating in southern ports.

I know the govt tries to say nay and the media wont touch it but those of you who do live in the south...is is a fair comment or not?

Family feud claims three lives
October 15, 2003

THREE men in a car stopped outside a suburban home early yesterday and fired 100 bullets into it, killing a man and woman, in the latest act of a deadly feud which has turned part of southwest Sydney into a battleground.


A burnt-out car was found near the scene of shooting. Picture: Bill Hearne.


The violence between some members of two extended Sydney families and their associates now has claimed three lives and injured at least one other person.

An 11th-hour attempt by a woman who was a key figure in the feud to stop the violence by pleading to a leading Lakemba figure failed to stop the latest carnage.

The escalating war of retribution has seen at least six shootings - five of them drive-bys - in Sydney's south-western suburbs in the past three months.

But Deputy Police Commissioner Dave Madden urged the community to be calm and said the violence was limited to the two groups.

"There are two families involved, extended families, large families, who for whatever reason ... have decided to take out or begin war against the other," Mr Madden said. "There have been a number of shootings, stabbings and indeed kidnappings across south-western Sydney over the last six to eight to 10 weeks."

In the latest attack, about 3.15am yesterday, Ziad "Ziggy" Razzak, 24, and 22-year-old mother Mervat Nemra were killed at 5 Lawford St, Greenacre.

Police sources have confirmed Mr Razzak was the intended target of the shooting, and that Ms Nemra was an unwitting victim. Mr Razzak was staying as a houseguest in the home Ms Nemra shared with her partner Ali Hamka.

Mr Razzak was sitting on the lounge when he was shot, and it is understood Mr Hamka also was still awake.

Ms Nemra was in bed, and the random bullets struck and killed her.

The only stroke of luck was that the couple's two children were staying with their grandparents.

Mr Razzak was shot in the head and was taken to hospital where he died.

Police are investigating reports of a "gun battle" taking place.

A Nissan Pulsar believed to have been used in the shooting was found burnt out nearby.

The shooting has been linked to the execution murder of Ziggy's uncle, Ali Abdul-Razak, who was shot dead in his car near a Lakemba mosque in late August.

Mr Abdul-Razak's killers - three men who wore balaclavas and drove a maroon car - are still at large, avoiding the attempts of a major police task force set up to stop the violence.

The violence began in late July, with four brazen shootings in Bankstown, Condell Park, Lakemba and Liverpool preceding Mr Abdul-Razak's murder.

Police sources confirmed the feud was fuelled by a bitter break-up and custody dispute between Mr Abdul-Razak, a member of one of the extended families, and his wife of about five years, a member of the other extended family.

Mr Abdul-Razak was charged last year with assault and breaching an AVO. Some members and associates of both families vied with each other for drug "turf" and the intermarriage, described by police as a "Romeo and Juliet" affair was a major source of acrimony when it broke up about a year ago.

No link to Sunday attacks

POLICE believe the shooting of two men dumped in neighbouring suburbs on Sunday night were not connected to the yesterday's Greenacre murders.

A separate inquiry has been launched into the shootings of two men, who were found alive at Wetherill Park and Fairfield.

One had been shot four times and the other twice, and both had their wrists bound with electrical tape.

Both were taken to hospital and put under police guard.

It is understood investigators believe the two Sunday night shootings are linked. Opposition police spokesman Peter Debnam yesterday called for police to have powers to conduct random car searches for illegal handguns.

"It really is time (Premier) Bob Carr moved beyond denial and admitted there was a crisis with gun violence on the streets of NSW, especially in southwest Sydney," he said.

"Have a look at random weapons searches of vehicles, have a look at increasing rewards, have a look at doubling the number of detectives and also deal with the fact that there is no deterrent in the court system at the moment to having illegal weapons."