In Northern Ireland’s capital Belfast, residents were evacuated during grim anti-immigration demonstrations on Tuesday evening after a home near the center was set on fire. Some residents reported this to the AFP news agency. Houses and cars were on fire in several places in the city, according to the British public broadcaster BBC.
The riots are a response to a bloody stabbing in Belfast on Monday evening. A 30-year-old Sudanese man sat on top of the victim with a knife in his hand and stabbed him several times. He may have tried to decapitate the victim. Gruesome images of the attack quickly circulated on social media. The victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The images also show how bystanders intervene. For example, the suspect is hit by a man with a wooden hurling stick. Hurling is a traditional Irish ball sport. A fundraiser has been set up to treat this man to a beer ‘for his incredible courage and bravery’. Around £6,000 has already been raised there (approximately €6,900).
Authorities have said the perpetrator is a Sudanese refugee with a valid residence permit until 2028. According to Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher, the man arrived in the United Kingdom via Paris and Dublin in 2023. The motive for the attack, which took place on Monday evening around 10:30 p.m., remains unclear, but police previously indicated that there was no information suggesting a terrorist act.
However, it was soon feared that the incident would be used as a reason for racially motivated riots. Several protests took place in Northern Ireland and England on Tuesday evening, many of which involved masked demonstrators, which have now gotten significantly out of hand. According to the BBC, doors are being kicked in and windows smashed by masked men in the east of the city. They allegedly shouted to help ‘the foreigners out’.
Police helicopters patrol the west and north of the city, and shops have closed their doors early. There is also a lot more blue on the streets in the rest of Northern Ireland after far-right figures, including activist Tommy Robinson, called for protests via social media.
Charged with attempted murder
The man suspected of a violent stabbing incident has been charged with attempted murder, the police of Northern Ireland said on Tuesday. The suspect will appear in court on Wednesday.
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Demonstrations
The attack has led to several calls for demonstrations. Multiple social media accounts are urging people to take to the streets Tuesday night and “protest mass immigration into their communities.”
Measures are already being taken in Northern Ireland to limit the damage from the protests. For example, the Northern Irish bus and train company Translink reports that all Metro and Glider services have been temporarily suspended.
Fire set in Belfast
Fires were set in several places in Belfast during the demonstration on Tuesday evening. A city bus, among other things, went up in flames. Elsewhere, a passenger car was set on fire.
It would involve several hundred demonstrators, some of whom were rowdy. For example, things are thrown at police cars. A Sky News reporter on site had to cut his broadcast short because he was jeered by some passers-by.
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