Racial tensions in Sydney's Sri Lankan community have spilled over, with acid poured over the faces of two sleeping students just hours after brawls involving rival ethnic groups.

At least five men forced their way into the Sinhalese students' home in Alexandra Avenue at Westmead about midnight (AEST) on Sunday.

They threw acid over a 22-year-old man, identified only as Jayasiri, leaving him severely burned and fighting for his life in Concord Hospital in an induced coma.

They also doused 27-year-old Chathuika Weerasinghe in acid before stabbing him in the abdomen and breaking his ankle.

A third man in the house at the time managed to escape uninjured and called police.

The intruders rampaged through the house during the attack, splintering a bedroom door, leaving windows, a coffee table and television smashed and blood splatters on walls and furniture.

The attack followed two brawls on Sunday afternoon, both believed to have involved members of the Tamil and Sinhalese communities.

The violence is thought to have been sparked by the Tamil Tigers admitting defeat in their 37-year battle for an independent ethnic homeland in Sri Lanka, which is ruled by the Sinhalese majority.

The Tamil community has been protesting for weeks in Sydney and Canberra over what they say is the genocide of their people.

Police are speaking to Sri Lankan community leaders, and have appealed for witnesses to the "politically-motivated unrest" to come forward.

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