Families and community leaders have called for greater protection to keep children safe after two boys were allegedly murdered just metres apart.

Chol Achiek, 12, and Dau Akeng, 15, died after being attacked while walking home in Melbourne's outer northwest on Saturday night.

The pair were ambushed by up to eight masked males armed with machetes and other bladed weapons.

Another boy who was walking with them, after the group watched a basketball game, managed to escape the gang.

Chol's father, Chuti Ngong, joined hundreds of mourners at a vigil near the site of his son's death in Cobblebank on Tuesday, and spoke of the community's shared grief in the wake of the violent attacks.

He urged the community to prevent further violence on the streets, pleading for "more protection for everyb

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