Clashed between hundreds of people have broken out in the remote aboriginal community of Wadeye, days after notorious outback gang the Jovi Boys raided a store in a nearby township.
Northern Territory Police said officers conducting proactive patrols saw an altercation involving about 50 people with “blunt weapons” on Perdjert Street at about 7.50pm on Friday, and forced the combatants to disperse.
But at 9pm a new brawl with up to 300 combatants with blunt and edged weapons erupted on the same street, and when police arrived the crowd became hostile and officers withdrew “for safety reasons”, police said.
Police later used OC spray to break up the crowd, and no injuries were reported from either incident.
“Police are monitoring the situation and working with community leaders and families to help restore calm and prevent further incidents,” Superintendent Glenn Leafe said.
Clan tensions are believed to be behind a weeks-long outbreak of violence, sparking calls for members of the 28 clans that make up Wadeye’s population of about 2,000 to be relocated to their tribal homelands.
The clashes came after a group of young men, allegedly from a gang called the Jovi Boys, looted a store in the remote aboriginal community of Peppimenarti earlier in the week, stealing pallets of alcohol and destroying CCTV cameras.
The theft, which came after a long-awaited restocking following flooding that cut off the town, sparked a stand-off between the gang and furious local families, NT News reported.
One local said the Jovi Boys had allegedly attacked the homes of families who had objected to their behaviour, and had been more hostile in recent weeks.
“We have a beautiful community… but these fellas are a problem. They have no respect,” the community member said.
Police from Wadeye, 90 minutes away, attended along with members of the Territory Response Group to conduct patrols and restore order the next day.
4 weeks of unrest on the community of Wadeye pic.twitter.com/B1iJXKnq1k
— Action for Alice 2020 (@actionforalice) February 1, 2026
The Northern Territory Police Force are continuing to respond to violent disturbances in the community of Wadeye.
Over the past 24 hours, police have responded to reports of large groups fighting within the community with various makeshift weapons, including window louvres.… pic.twitter.com/ScpRIiNNfz— Action for Alice 2020 (@actionforalice) February 1, 2026
Last weekend Wadeye was rocked by 24 hours of violence, which involved large groups fighting with makeshift weapons including window louvres, and a video showed a Land Cruiser being driven at a crowd.
A week before that police made 20 arrests after hundreds of aboriginals fought in the street with weapons including crossbows and cars were set alight, and a huge pile of weapons was seized after police spotted six males with “improvised weapons” walking near the Wadeye Health Clinic amid a suspected family feud.
The seizure followed another clash where a man was shot with a crossbow during a fight between 15 people that was linked to unrest involving about 100 people, some armed with edged weapons, that broke out a couple of days earlier.
Violence also erupted in Wadeye in early December on the eve of a No More march against domestic, family and sexual violence.
Hundreds of aboriginals then fought running battles in Maningrida in Arnhem Land between January 1 and January 4, and in nearby Ramingining up to 40 people fought with blunt and edged weapons, including spears, just before Christmas.
A clash between 30 people broke out in Yuendumu near Alice Springs on January 8, in late January a man was wounded by an “edged weapon” during a 50-person brawl in Minyerri, and a day after that a group of about 100 people began fighting and throwing rocks at police in Santa Theresa.
Header image: Left, clashes in Wadeye last weekend (supplied). Right, the Jovi Boys in 2023 (Facebook).
The post Three hundred brawl in remote aboriginal community after outback gang loots township first appeared on The Noticer.
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