Machetes used in horror New Year’s Eve attack on iconic Melbourne street

A group wielding machetes and knives have left two men with serious injuries on one of Melbourne’s most iconic streets in a horror New Year’s Eve attack.

Police say the two male victims were set upon outside a restaurant on Lygon St in Carlton by a group of up to seven men armed with knives and machetes.

The group fled in cars shortly afterwards.

Police were called to the scene near the intersection of Argyle Place about 11.45pm on Wednesday.

A 20-year-old Heidelberg West man and an 18-year-old NSW man were rushed to hospital after suffering serious injuries in the attack.

Anyone with information has been urged to come forward.

“Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives will investigate if the incident was a targeted attack,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

No charges have been laid.

The attack is the latest in a spate of machete incidents troubling the city.

This includes a fight between two rival gangs that forced Northland Shopping Centre into lockdown in May.

Another attack claimed the lives of Dau Akueng, 15, and his friend Chol Achiek, 12, who were walking home from a basketball game when they were ambushed by a group of up to eight masked people wielding machetes and long-edged weapons, police say.

Their deaths sparked national outrage.

A machete ban was brought in last year, with amnesty bins popping up around the state.

Under the law, anyone caught possessing or selling a machete without a valid exemption, such as for agricultural workers, faces up to two years in prison or a fine of more than $47,000.

More than 1300 machetes and knives were surrendered within two weeks of the ban coming into force on September 1, with 3400 more surrendered by retailers.