Sydney, Dec. 18 (Reuters): Australian police “locked down” two Sydney suburbs tonight, allowing only residents through roadblocks, fearing fresh outbreaks of racial violence after seizing Molotov cocktails.

Police said Australia’s famous Bondi beach and the suburb of Brighton-le-Sands near Sydney airport had been sealed off after people were arrested carrying Molotov cocktails.

“Only residents can come into Bondi. They have to show proof of residence, like a driver’s licence,” a police spokeswoman told Reuters.

Some 2,000 police personnel patrolled Sydney’s beachside suburbs today, screening cars at dozens of roadblocks, seizing knives, clubs spiked with nails, steel pikes and knuckle-dusters.

The police said they had found five people north of Cronulla on Sunday with a 25-litre drum of petrol in their car, as well as condoms for making Molotov cocktails. They also found two men with petrol bottles on a Bondi bus.

The police said the men arrested with Molotov cocktails were not local residents.

“We will continue this operation for as long as it takes,” New South Wales state police commissioner Ken Moroney said, adding that 60 arrests had been made since Friday.

The southern beach of Cronulla, a mainly white beachside community, burst into rioting on December 11 when a large crowd stirred on by white supremacists, and fuelled with alcohol, turned on anyone of West Asian appearance.

The angry crowd said they were defending their beach from ethnic Lebanese youth whom they blamed for a recent attack on beach life guards.

Lebanese youths retaliated over two nights, attacking people and vandalising cars in several suburbs.

The unrest revealed tensions between Sydney’s territorial surfing sub-culture, united in surfing shorts and wrap-around sunglasses, and ethnic Lebanese youths in gansta rap attire from poorer western Sydney who have become regular beachgoers.

In Bondi, normally packed a week before Christmas, police prowled the beach and seaborne special forces the water. “Bondi has never been this quiet. It’s sad to see such an icon of Australia not being used because it’s here for everyone,” said Dave Byron, taking part in a barbecue contest.

The violence has hurt Australia’s image, rekindling old stereotypes of white Australians as racist, opposition Leader Kim Beazley said.