Another clash between protesters of Islam and the police happened at Martin Place in Sydney. This comes after the heels of the protest in Melton, Victoria on Sunday. The anti-racism protests in Sydney were attended by around 300 people while the anti-Islam rally were attended by about 100 people.

The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reports that at least 200 police officers were dispatched to keep the peace and separate the two opposing groups. However, when the anti-racism group began to spill over to Macquarie Street, the officers blocked them from going further.

Omar Hassan, one of the anti-racism rally organisers said that they were there to give a message against racism, especially after the recent Paris attacks. He also aired out his group’s concerns.

"We're concerned that the far right will try to mobilise legitimate fear and concern in a racist and divisive way. So we're here to send an anti-racist and inclusive message," Hassan said in the SMH report.

Reclaim Australia spokeswoman Claire Smith also aired their side.

"We just want our successful Australian way of life retained, that's not racist that's just plain sensible," Smith said in a report from 9news.com.au.

Police also struggled to contain an estimated 500 far-Right protesters, including Reclaim Australia, who rallied against plans of building a mosque and a possible Islamic school in Melton. Meanwhile, about 1,000 far-Left protesters, including No Room for Racism and Socialist Alliance, clashed with the far-Right groups.

The Age reports that the fight came after the anti-racism protesters had triggered the first police response of the day. A long line of police officers, wearing body armour and on horseback, reportedly spent six hours containing the two groups of protesters.

Six people were arrested, including a 29-year-old man who was accused of assaulting a horse. He was charged with cruelty to an animal. Two men, aged 44 and 22 were charged for riotous behaviour. Another 44-year-old man was charged with possessing a weapon.

Victoria Police Acting Commander Alan Byrne said that they were able to manage the crowd easier than having two separate locations. Byrne added that the police officers were disappointed by the behaviour. This left them no choice but to spray the crowd twice with pepper spray.

"The first time was near the horses when there was the assault on the horse and the other times was when opposing sides were in a confrontation and a police officer sprayed them to keep them apart," said Byrne said in the News.com.au report.

The rally in Melton was part Reclaim Australia’s national day of action against the "Islamisation of Australia."

In Brisbane, Reclaim Australia was drowned out because their microphone malfunctioned, according to Brisbane Times. Reclaim Australia played Cold Chisel's "Khe Sanh" to drown the counter-protesters out. But their opponents countered by playing John Farnham's "You're the Voice" at full blast.

Aside from Melton, Martin Place and Brisbane, other similar rallies occurred in various areas of Australia, including Canberra, Adelaide and Perth.

Below are some reactions from Twitter about the recent rallies in Australia.

Source: YouTube/chippy9411

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