Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Sydney erupted into a second night of racial violence as gangs of young men of Middle-Eastern appearance attacked people in streets and smashed cars and shop windows in the city's southern and western suburbs, police said.

Police tried to block bridges and roads to the beachside suburb of Cronulla when a convoy of about 70 cars carrying armed youths drove to the area to retaliate for the bashing of people of Middle- Eastern appearance during a riot by about 5,000 residents protesting an attack on two volunteer lifeguards a week ago.

Eleven people were arrested during last night's violence, in which seven, including a police officer, were injured. The unrest was kicked off when as many as 400 young people gathered outside a mosque in the western suburb of Lakemba, preparing to travel to Maroubra Beach and Cronulla. Some were armed with Glock pistols, the Sydney Morning Herald said. Police said they were pelted with rocks and bricks.

The crowd in Lakemba dispersed after a few hours as youths moved east to Cronulla and Maroubra, where residents and shop owners were attacked in the streets. A 45-year-old man in Cronulla was bashed while taking out his garbage, suffering broken ribs and head injuries, according to police. A 51-year old man had his arm broken with a baseball bat.

Cars full of young men armed with baseball bats and crowbars drove through the suburb, smashing windows and denting cars, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. More than 100 people threw garbage bins in shops at nearby Brighton-le-Sands, smashing windows and cars.

Molotov Cocktails

In Maroubra, police confiscated more than 30 molotov cocktails and crates of rocks, which residents appeared to have stockpiled on rooftops.

The violence was again fueled by text messages that mobilized Arabic youths to retaliate for Sunday's assaults, while others appealed to residents to defend their beach, both newspapers reported. ``Aussies: Well done today! But this is only the beginning, this is a straight up WAR!'' said one message pictured in the Australian newspaper.

The riots again made front-page news in the papers. ``Hundreds terrorize the streets: Armed gangs on rampage'' headlined the Sydney Morning Herald. ``Race warfare divides city,'' said the Australian.

Racial tensions had been simmering for years, waiting to break out, residents said, as local surfers defended Cronulla beach against intruders.

Gang Rapes

Sydney's suburbs are divided by racial and economic factors, with the affluent, Anglo-centric and surf-cultured based eastern suburbs contrasting with the western suburbs, which have large number of immigrants.

Many Australians of Middle-Eastern descent have been treated as second-class citizens since notorious Lebanese gang rapes in 2000, Roland Haddad, a young Lebanese-Australian, wrote in the Herald.

The riots of the past two days may be the country's biggest race protests since two Chinese miners were killed in riots in 1860 during the height of the gold rush.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard yesterday condemned the violence, telling reporters in Sydney that ``attacking people on the basis of their race, their appearance or their ethnicity is totally unacceptable.''

Howard rejected suggestions the attacks highlighted ``underlying racism in Australia.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Miriam Steffens in Sydney at msteffens1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 12, 2005 18:02 EST