Terror raids: growing fear on the streets of western Sydney

There is growing fear on the streets of Parramatta after a number of anti-terror raids on nearby suburbs including Guildford, Merrylands, Wentworthville, Westmead and Northmead.  

Twenty five properties across 12 Sydney suburbs were raided in the early hours of Thursday morning as part of Australia’s largest anti-terrorism operation.

More than 600 officers from NSW Police and the Australian Federal Police were involved in the pre-dawn raids.

An increased police presence seems to have heightened concerns that a home-grown terror attack could be imminent.

Kate Jamieson said she woke up when she heard a helicopter flying over her house at Merrylands overnight.

“When I heard it was nearby at Guildford I was scared, you don’t know what to expect,” she said.

“You hear about things going on in the Middle East and you think that the threat is over there – then you realise it could be at home.”

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GUILDFORD NEIGHBOURS TELL OF POLICE RAIDS

Nina Antipjera from Parramatta said she no longer felt safe.

“I live nearby and Merrylands is right next door and I don’t feel safe with everything that is going on,” she said.

Matthew Henderson from Baulkham Hills said he was concerned since hearing of the raids this morning.

He said he was not surprised by the raids “because of the way ISIS has been recruiting, there was going to be a number of cells in Australia.”

He said he

believed that there would be a terror attack on home soil at some stage but all people could do was keep their eyes open and report anything suspicious to police.

Chairman of Parramatta’s Islamic Cultural Association Neil El Kadomi said the anti-terror raids would only add to the fear on the streets.

Mr El Kadomi praised police efforts saying he hoped any terrorists were caught and jailed but he warned that the individuals were not representative of the Muslim population.

‘WE SHOULD NOT INFLAME HATRED’: MUSLIM LEADERS

He said the raids reflected badly on the Muslim community and “we are paying the price”.

“You are worried about people attacking people in the street, abusing them, creating a more violent situation in the streets,” he said.

“We support the police but we don’t want to escalate things.

“We just want to walk in the street, worship in peace and come home. We want to live in peace.

“We are worried about our reputation.”

He said the Federal Government’s decision to send troops back into the Middle East had inflamed the situation.

Mr El Kadomi said people were worried about families and friends that live in the region and had nothing to do with ISIS.

“Why are we sending troops over there when we have enough problems of our own here?

“We should not be interfering in other conflicts,” he said.

“We live in Australia, we are lucky, we should be looking after Australia.”

Parramatta Lord Mayor John Chedid said the community should remain calm in the face of recent events.

“I think people should not panic, I believe we have got a great community,” Cr Chedid said.

“Most people in Australia are all about living together in harmony and peace.”

Cr Chedid described threats made to a nun at a local Christian school in Harris Park as “isolated incidents”.

He said while it “never hurt to be vigilant and on the job”, police were handling the issues effectively.

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Chedid said plans for an increased police presence could help people feel more secure.

“I think it will give people confidence, people want to feel safe,” he said.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said NSW Police had deployed 220 officers to be “out and about” to stop reaction attacks in Sydney.

“We are launching Operation Hammerhead as of today and we will be focusing on transport hubs, places where people gather in large numbers, iconic locations and critical infrastructure.”

“And as always, we do want to public to remain vigilant and tells us if they notice something that doesn’t look right.”

 source: dailytelegraph.com.au