Starting this week Australian security officials will be staging a huge operation to guard the Melbourne Commonwealth Games with 13,000 police and 2,500 defence personnel and private security guards either directly involved or on standby, reports Reuters.
Attorney General Philip Ruddock told Sky News Monday, “it’s serious, because what we know of our alert level…is that terrorist attacks are feasible but we have no specific information in relation to the planning of a particular act”.
Ruddock said powers which could be used to safeguard the Games include shooting down aircraft flying into “exclusion zones” over areas like the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and athletics.
With the number of visiting dignitaries coming from 53 nations and 71 associations there is an added extra dimension to security planning.
