Australian officials have called for vigilance against divisive plots following protests by dozens of anti-Muslim nationalists.

Stepan Kerkyasharian, president of Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales, made the remarks on Monday after hundreds of supporters of anti-Islam and anti-immigration group Reclaim Australia took part in rallies in several cities around the country over the weekend.

The protests by the right-wing radical group was met by massive counter-protests staged by anti-racism demonstrators, who carried banners reading, “No Room for Racism.”

Violence erupted in the city of Melbourne as police intervened to separate the rival groups.

"You basically have the Muslim community which feels that they are under siege because of international events, because of global terrorism, and because you now have global terrorism which is misusing religion to pursue geopolitical agendas," he said.

Australians, on the other hand, feel insecure “because they feel that they are under siege as well because of what they hear in the news,” Kerkyasharian said, noting that the two groups are living “in fear of the other.”

Organizers of Reclaim Australia rallies have denied they are racist. However, Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane said there was evidence of unpleasant elements in the rallies, including neo-Nazi and racial supremacist groups.

He said anti-Muslim protesters account for “a fringe minority” in Australia, urging people to be “really vigilant at the moment about our community cohesion.”

Back in 2005, white mobs attacked Arab Australians in order to "reclaim the beach". More than 20 people were injured in the violence that broke out while over a dozen arrests were also made.