Masked men set fire to homes and a bus in Belfast on Tuesday night, forcing residents to flee after a knife attack in the city triggered a wave of anti-immigration protests.
A group of about 100 masked people kicked in doors and smashed windows on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast, where a Glider bus was set alight. In Lendrick Street, cars were set on fire, flames spreading to houses. “Masked men were bashing down doors,” one resident told BBC News NI. Helen Williamson, evacuated by firefighters, said: “I’ve been here for 58 years but I have never seen anything like this.”
“Masked protesters set homes and a bus on fire in Belfast after a Sudanese man was charged with attempted murder in a stabbing.”
The disorder erupted within hours of a 30-year-old Sudanese man being charged with attempted murder after Monday night's stabbing in Kinnaird Avenue, north Belfast. The victim, a man in his 40s, suffered serious injuries to his eyes, neck and back. The suspect, who entered the UK via Dublin and claimed asylum on 10 February 2023, was also charged with possession of a blade and threats to kill. He is due in court on Wednesday.
Video of the attack showed a passer-by, Maitiu Mag Tighearnan, using a hurling stick to beat the assailant until police arrived. “I just landed there by chance,” he wrote on social media. “Cops were called before I even got out to protect a young lad.” His partner, Aoife O’Reilly, told the Daily Mail: “I couldn’t be prouder of Matt … he stood in and hopefully saved a man’s life.”
The violence spread to other parts of Northern Ireland, including Londonderry, Antrim and Portadown, where a police car was set ablaze. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson appealed for “voices of influence within local communities to encourage peaceful protest”. First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the scenes as “outright thuggery”, and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said: “There is no justification at all for this type of destruction and thuggery.”
Far-right agitator Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – had circulated a target list of 70 towns and cities for protests, and people gathered in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Southampton. Pastor Jack McKee, who has been helping those targeted, said members of his church “who have been with us for 20 years” were being put out of their homes “because they’re black”. “I’m angry and disappointed that this is the response of people in our community,” he said.