Violent protests broke out in the Northern Irish city of Belfast on Tuesday evening. Some residents are angry about the shocking scene that unfolded in their city on Monday evening. Then a man was barely saved from beheading. Groups of demonstrators, often masked, set fires, pelted the police and intimidated journalists.
Journalist at HLN
Source: BBC, Sky News, Belga, ANP
The main suspect is a 30-year-old refugee from Sudan with a residence permit. The man was charged today with attempted murder. Anti-immigration activists, including the infamous Tommy Robinson, have therefore been calling all day for massive protests on Tuesday evening.
As hundreds of Belfast residents demonstrate, police helicopters patrol the west and north of the city, and shops have closed early. There is also considerably more blue on the streets in the rest of Northern Ireland.
A BBC reporter reports that in the east of the city a group of about a hundred masked men are kicking in doors and breaking windows. They said they were “kicking out the foreigners.”
A fire was also set at a supermarket selling Middle Eastern products in the center.
According to the Sky News channel, other demonstrators are confronting police and throwing objects at police vans. A cloud of smoke hangs over the city after a bus was set on fire. Protesters threw torches and objects at the emergency services present. Two cars also went up in flames in the northern suburb of Newtownabbey.
The demonstrators’ anger is sometimes also directed against the press present. A Sky News correspondent interrupts his live report because he is intimidated by some participants in the protest. Another reporter from the same channel is dealing with a similar scene.
Police response
Deputy Chief Constable of the Northern Ireland Police Ryan Henderson calls for calm. “Officers are on site and working with partner organizations to respond to incidents as they occur and keep people safe.”
He called on “all influential people within local communities to encourage peaceful protest and discourage any form of violence or disorderly conduct.”
Northern Ireland’s Justice Secretary Naomi Long says those who commit violence are taking advantage of “people’s genuine pain, concern and anger”. Long said it was “plainly dishonest” to claim this was being done in the interests of Northern Ireland.
Violence against migrants
Those concerns are not unfounded. Belfast was a flashpoint for protests in 2024 after a teenager with Rwandan parents murdered three young girls in Southport, Britain.
The murder case was the starting point of violent anti-immigration protests, fueled by groups affiliated with far-right groups.
Groups of people attacked people with a migrant background and pelted and set fire to minority businesses.
Also in England
Demonstrations are also taking place in London, as can be seen in the photo below.
