Protesters set fire to houses and cars in anti-immigration protests in Northern Ireland

Protesters set fire to homes and cars in anti-immigration protests in Northern Ireland
Masked men drove families from their homes by setting them on fire in Belfast in a wave of anti-immigration violence on Tuesday night after a Sudanese man was charged with a knife attack, Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said.
Hundreds of protesters, many with their faces covered, attacked police and set fire to vehicles in several locations across Northern Ireland after video of the knife attack, which left one person with serious neck and head injuries, went viral.
Several houses could be seen burning in the city on Tuesday night. Video broadcast by the BBC showed police helping a family escape a burning house.
"There can be no excuse or justification for these attacks tonight," O'Neill said in a statement. "Groups of masked men driving families from their homes by fire is nothing short of sickening cowardice."
A car on fire in east Belfast, during a protest following a June 8 knife attack that left a man seriously injured and led police to declare critical condition, in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Isabel Infantes/Reuters
'Revolting' knife attack sparks violence
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the initial knife attack, which took place in north Belfast late on Monday night, as "revolting".
The attack, which is not currently being treated as terrorism, comes at a time of heightened tensions in the UK following the murder of a student who was handcuffed by police as he agonized over stab wounds after his killer, a Sikh man, falsely claimed he had suffered a racist attack.
The episode also follows repeated protests over immigration from populist parties stating that UK asylum policy allowed dangerous men into the country. There were anti-immigration riots in Northern Ireland last year amid outrage over an alleged sexual assault.
Protesters gather in Parliament Square following a knife attack in Belfast on June 8, which left a man seriously injured and prompted police to declare a critical incident, in London
Chris J. Ratcliffe / Reuters
Vehicles set on fire across the city
Masked youths gathered at several points in Belfast in the early evening of Tuesday, with police responding by deploying armored vehicles. Protesters set fire to several vehicles across the city, including a bus in east Belfast.
The BBC reported that a mob of 100 men broke down doors and broke windows of houses on a street in east Belfast.
"They are being kicked out just because they are black," pastor Jack McKee told the BBC after attacks on homes in the north of the city.
The stabbing suspect, a 30-year-old Sudanese national, was charged on Tuesday night with attempted murder, possession of a sharp or stabbing object in a public place and threatening to kill.
He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The victim, a man in his 40s, suffered significant injuries to his eyes and cuts to his face and back during the "brutal" attack, with a kitchen knife found at the scene, Northern Ireland's Deputy Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said.
Images showed several members of the public trying to fend off the attacker before the police arrived. police, and they were credited by senior officers with saving the man's life.
Leaders of Northern Ireland's main political parties jointly condemned the attack, calling it "horrific", and also called for calm, saying the riots would only harm their own communities.

Source: G1