UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and leaders in Northern Ireland condemned anti-migrant violence that broke out in Belfast on Tuesday, following a knif
e attack believed to have been committed by a refugee of Sudanese descent.
A number of vehicles were set on fire and adjacent houses were also gutted by flames in several locations across Belfast and elsewhere in Northern Ireland. Starmer
said it was “clear that people were targeted last night because of their background,” while North
ern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, of Sinn Féin, described the violence as “outright thuggery.”
Claire Hanna, a Belfast MP and leader of the Social Democratic & Labour Party, went further, likening the violence to a “race-based pogrom.” She told the
BBC late on Tuesday: “We are seeing men going door to door asking to get the foreigners out based exclusively on the color of their skin.”
The violence broke out in response to a stabbing attack that took place in the Kinnaird Avenue area of Belfast on Monday. A 30-year-old man, believed to be
from Sudan, has been charged with attempted murder and is due to appear in court Wednesday.
The unrest comes soon after protests in Southampton, England, over the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak by a British-born Sikh man who misled police by saying he had been racially abused by his victim. Extreme right-win
g groups have called on people to take to the streets, calls amplified by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, whose online agitating has been condemned by Starmer.
Anti-immigrant demonstrators also gathered outside a Southampton hotel housing asylum-seekers. Scotland First Minister John Swinney condemned as “unaccep
See more beautiful photo albums Here >>>
table” a protest that broke out in Glasgow, including reports of clashes in the city center. Smaller demonstrations were reported in Edinburgh and Ayr.
Sinn Féin’s Deirdre Hargey, who represents South Belfast in the Northern Ireland Assembly, told media channel RTE there “was a deliberate stoking up by the British far right.”
“Social media was flooded by messages stoking up protests, calling for people out to the street
s,” she said. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said Tuesday’s scenes of disorder were “only damaging communities in putting innocent lives at risk.”
The violence broke out around 7 p.m. with videos on social media showing masked protesters on the streets in a number of areas of Belfast and Northern Irela
nd. In East Belfast, a bus was hijacked and set on fire. Videos showed people running from burning houses with cars burning on the streets.
Northern Ireland’s justice minister, Naomi Long, said a number of families had to be escorte
d under police guard from their homes. “There is no place for this in our society,” she said on RTE. Long said she understood how people were angry after the “barbaric” attack on Monday, but added “it’s not the right response.”
“People need to remain calm, we need to allow the justice system to take its course.”
Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Police Constable Ryan Henderson said that sporadic pockets of disorder broke out in a number of locations across Northern Ireland and a number of vehicles were set on fire. “We are ag
ain appealing for calm and ask all voices of influence within local communities to encourage peaceful protest and discourage any involvement in violence or disorder,” he said in a statement.
