Aborigines riot in central Sydney
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Terrace housing in Sydney's notorious Redfern suburb.
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Rioters clash with Sydney police following death of Aboriginal youth.
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SYDNEY, Australia -- Fifty police officers have been injured in Sydney following a night of rioting sparked by the death of an Aboriginal youth.
The violence broke out in the predominantly Aboriginal inner-city suburb of Redfern on Sunday evening after the death of teenager who witnesses say became impaled on a metal fence following a police chase.
New South Wales police in a media conference Sunday denied they had chased the youth, who was riding a bicycle, saying the youth had sped off after being overtaken by a police vehicle.
Seventeen-year-old Thomas Hickey then lost control of his bike and became impaled on the railings of a fence, police said. He died later in hospital.
The rioting began after posters appeared around the suburb accusing the police of being child murderers and was allegedly fuelled by alcohol and oppressively humid summer weather.
Eight police officers remain in hospital Monday after the violence which lasted about nine hours.
The railway station in Redfern -- a key central city hub for many commuters -- was a main target of attack and suffered extensive fire damage.
City and suburban trains were not stopping at the station early Monday morning because of the damage and ongoing safety fears but was later re-opened, although police warned the public to avoid the area.
Four people have been arrested in relation to the riots, but police say they had identified several others involved and expect to make more arrests in coming days.
Police Assistant Commissioner Bob Waites said the violence was sparked by the belief that police had pursued Hickey to his death.
He said a lot of alcohol had been consumed throughout the day.
"They burnt out one vehicle and they in fact were throwing Molotov cocktails both at police and at Redfern railway station during the course of the riot," Waites told reporters Monday.
He said the rioters had eight garbage bins with paving bricks in to throw as missiles, along with large tubs of beer bottles.
The Redfern district has become notorious in Sydney in recent years for its confrontations between police and the urban Aboriginal population.
