Sydney acid attack link to Tamils
Two men are in hospital - one in an induced coma with severe acid burns - after a violent home invasion in Sydney's west overnight.
A friend of the victims believes the attack is linked to friction between Tamils and supporters of the Sri Lankan Government.
The men were in their home in Alexandra Avenue, Westmead, when five men broke in at midnight and threw acid at them, police said.
One of the victims, aged 22, was badly burnt and had to placed in an induced coma in the burns unit at Concord Hospital.
The other, 27, was also stabbed in the stomach and broke his ankle in the attack. He is in a serious but stable condition at Westmead Hospital.
A friend of the victims said the attack was linked to yesterday's brawl between Tamils protesting against the war in Sri Lanka and supporters of the Sri Lankan Government.
He said his friends, who are Sinhalese - the Buddhist ethnic majority in Sri Lanka - called him during the attack.
"My friend who lives in [Alexandra Avenue] rang me about 11.30pm and said: 'These Tamil guys are here and they are going to kill us,' " the friend, who did not want to be named, said. "I could hear them screaming."
His friends, Chathurika and Jayasri, knew the men were Tamils because they were screaming in Tamil during the rampage, he said.
A third occupant of the house escaped injury by hiding during the attack. The friend said he was still trying to contact him this morning.
A neighbour said he heard screaming from the house and was about to call police, but they arrived before he had a chance to phone.
"Someone else must have heard it too and called them," said the man, who did not wish to be named.
"I was asleep, and I heard the noises and got up and went to my kitchen window. I saw one of the guys going back and forth ... but I didn't [see who did it]."
The trail of destruction left by the attackers was still visible this morning, with blood splattered on walls and on the floor, bloodied handprints on light switches and door handles and debris scattered throughout the house.
Glass sliding doors at the front of the house had been smashed.
In the lounge room, a glass coffee table and TV were smashed, and a fridge and microwave had been thrown on the floor.
The victim's friend said the attack had followed clashes between Sinhalese and Tamils in Sydney's west yesterday afternoon, after the Tamil Tigers' admission of defeat in Sri Lanka in their long-running battle with the Government.
Groups of Sinhalese had celebrated at parks yesterday, but the victims had not been present, the friend said.
"They didn't come to the celebration; they were working, that's why we were wondering [why they were attacked].
"But this house has always been famous for Sri Lankans ... they are always having parties and stuff, so they know [there are Sinhalese here]."
The friend said he drove to the victim's house from his Blacktown home as soon as he heard about the attack, but by that time the attackers had fled and his friends had been taken to hospital.
He was very concerned for both the men, particularly Jayasri who was in the burns unit.
"The nurses they didn't know if he would get his eyesight back," he said.
The friend said the man in the burns unit was a student, while the other worked at a fast-food restaurant.
The victim's neighbour said they had lived in the house about 2½ years, and that there had been no trouble in the past. He said he was angry at the attack.
Police had no details about the attackers, or how they got away.
Anyone with information is asked to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Sydney Morning Herald
Two men are in hospital - one in an induced coma with severe acid burns - after a violent home invasion in Sydney's west overnight.
A friend of the victims believes the attack is linked to friction between Tamils and supporters of the Sri Lankan Government.
The men were in their home in Alexandra Avenue, Westmead, when five men broke in at midnight and threw acid at them, police said.
One of the victims, aged 22, was badly burnt and had to placed in an induced coma in the burns unit at Concord Hospital.
The other, 27, was also stabbed in the stomach and broke his ankle in the attack. He is in a serious but stable condition at Westmead Hospital.
A friend of the victims said the attack was linked to yesterday's brawl between Tamils protesting against the war in Sri Lanka and supporters of the Sri Lankan Government.
He said his friends, who are Sinhalese - the Buddhist ethnic majority in Sri Lanka - called him during the attack.
"My friend who lives in [Alexandra Avenue] rang me about 11.30pm and said: 'These Tamil guys are here and they are going to kill us,' " the friend, who did not want to be named, said. "I could hear them screaming."
His friends, Chathurika and Jayasri, knew the men were Tamils because they were screaming in Tamil during the rampage, he said.
A third occupant of the house escaped injury by hiding during the attack. The friend said he was still trying to contact him this morning.
A neighbour said he heard screaming from the house and was about to call police, but they arrived before he had a chance to phone.
"Someone else must have heard it too and called them," said the man, who did not wish to be named.
"I was asleep, and I heard the noises and got up and went to my kitchen window. I saw one of the guys going back and forth ... but I didn't [see who did it]."
The trail of destruction left by the attackers was still visible this morning, with blood splattered on walls and on the floor, bloodied handprints on light switches and door handles and debris scattered throughout the house.
Glass sliding doors at the front of the house had been smashed.
In the lounge room, a glass coffee table and TV were smashed, and a fridge and microwave had been thrown on the floor.
The victim's friend said the attack had followed clashes between Sinhalese and Tamils in Sydney's west yesterday afternoon, after the Tamil Tigers' admission of defeat in Sri Lanka in their long-running battle with the Government.
Groups of Sinhalese had celebrated at parks yesterday, but the victims had not been present, the friend said.
"They didn't come to the celebration; they were working, that's why we were wondering [why they were attacked].
"But this house has always been famous for Sri Lankans ... they are always having parties and stuff, so they know [there are Sinhalese here]."
The friend said he drove to the victim's house from his Blacktown home as soon as he heard about the attack, but by that time the attackers had fled and his friends had been taken to hospital.
He was very concerned for both the men, particularly Jayasri who was in the burns unit.
"The nurses they didn't know if he would get his eyesight back," he said.
The friend said the man in the burns unit was a student, while the other worked at a fast-food restaurant.
The victim's neighbour said they had lived in the house about 2½ years, and that there had been no trouble in the past. He said he was angry at the attack.
Police had no details about the attackers, or how they got away.
Anyone with information is asked to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Sydney Morning Herald
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