Police armed with assault rifles patrol Sydney in Australian first after Bondi attack

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Amnesty says the presence of heavily armed officers ‌raises ‘serious questions about the increasing militarisation of policing’

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A new police unit ⁠armed with military ⁠assault rifles has ⁠begun patrolling the streets of Sydney, in an Australian-first measure set up in response to the Bondi Beach attack last December.

The Armed Response ‌Command (ARC) would deploy at major events, crowded public spaces, sporting venues and places of worship to conduct “high visibility” patrols, New South Wales state police said.

The move comes after two men opened fire on ⁠a Jewish celebration at the famous beach, killing 15 people ‌in an antisemitic attack motivated by Islamic State ideology.

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