Anti-immigration protests take over Belfast after knife attack

Anti-immigration protesters took to the streets in the UK after a 30-year-old Sudanese man was charged with attempted murder over the knife attack that left one person seriously injured in Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the crime "horrific".

Masked crowds gathered in different areas of Belfast on Tuesday night (9). Protesters set fire to houses, cars, barricades and at least one bus.

Tension also spread to the cities of Newtownabbey, where protesters set two vehicles on fire, according to videos geolocated by CNN, and Kilkeel, where another car was burned.

Social media videos verified by CNN show homes in Belfast engulfed in flames as emergency crews and firefighters run down the street.

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said groups of masked men were "expelting families from their homes by fire" in scenes of "pure vandalism and violence".

The protests began after a Sudanese citizen over a knife attack that left another man hospitalized with injuries to his eyes, back and face.

Much of the attack, which took place on Monday night in Belfast, was filmed by a witness and went viral on social media. In the images, a man can be seen pinning another to the ground and attacking him before members of the public and police intervened.

"The attack in North Belfast was heinous and unjustifiable. But there are dangerous attempts to exploit this case to attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here," O'Neill wrote on the X network.

"Racism, bullying and violence are wrong wherever they occur," he added.

Protests spread to other cities
Smaller demonstrations were also reported in other British cities, including Bangor, Glasgow and London, where a group of far-right protesters confronted police and chanted anti-immigration slogans.

So far, there is no evidence that the knife attack was linked to terrorism, said Northern Ireland's deputy chief of police, Ryan Henderson, stressing that the investigation is still in its early stages. He added that the suspect had a legal right to reside in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland's chief constable, Jon Boutcher, urged people not to allow "people who know nothing about Northern Ireland to influence the behavior of our citizens from a distance through social media."

Police acknowledged that there had been "sporadic outbreaks of disorder" in several parts of Northern Ireland and that some vehicles had been set on fire. The authorities asked the population to remain calm, to protest peacefully and act responsibly.

Northern Ireland's Justice Minister Naomi Long condemned the riots. She said some of the protesters would be "determined to destroy the very communities they claim to want to protect."

"There is no place for masked hoodlums to take to the streets to threaten, intimidate, cause disruption and wanton destruction. It is simply dishonest to claim this is being done for the good of Northern Ireland," he said in a statement.

"While I recognize and understand the concerns following the attack in North Belfast, we cannot allow hate to prevail," he concluded.

Context of growing tension
A year ago, several nights of racially motivated violent disturbances occurred in the nearby town of Ballymena, after two Romanian teenagers were accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. All charges against them were later dropped.

This week's attack comes at a time when the political environment in the United Kingdom is already very tense.

Last week, the release of body camera footage related to the death of white student Henry Nowak, who was handcuffed by police when he died after being stabbed, sparked a national outcry.

Police officers were criticized for their actions, while far-right leaders were accused of exploiting the case to encourage racist violence for political ends.

Political reactions
Starmer called Monday night's attack "horrible" and "disgusting." He added that he has "absolutely no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets."

Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the center-right Conservative Party, immediately linked the attack to illegal immigration, without providing evidence, and called on the police to "release the facts as quickly as possible so that we can have clarity about what happened."

Nigel Farage, leader of the radical right-wing populist party Reform UK, which leads the majority of opinion polls, echoed the request, stating that "the authorities must immediately reveal the identity and immigration status of the attacker."

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Source: CNN