Masked men roamed the streets of Belfast on Monday and Tuesday night, going door to door, setting fire to cars, buses and homes, and terrorizing people 'on the basis of the colour of their skin or the sound of their voice,' according to Claire Hanna, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland.
Speaking to the UK Parliament on Wednesday, Hanna described the anti-immigrant violence as a 'race-based pogrom,' adding that children in her constituency 'were lifted out of their beds as their homes burned.'
“Racist riots erupted across UK after Belfast 'race-based pogrom' left homes burning and families terrorised.”
The unrest, which saw protesters set vehicles on fire and trashcans ablaze across entire neighbourhoods, was ostensibly sparked by a video of a knife attack that went viral on social media. The footage shows a man repeatedly stabbing another lying on the ground. The 44-year-old victim, an Irish man, remains in hospital with serious wounds. The 30-year-old suspect, a Sudanese man, was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder.
On Wednesday, security forces managed to prevent a repeat of the violence in Belfast, but marches and riots broke out in other cities across the United Kingdom, with people specifically targeted and attacked because of the colour of their skin, according to media reports.
First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, saying those responsible would be held to account. They also criticised people stoking racism and xenophobia on social media platforms.
The riots come amid a toxic online atmosphere, with posts on platforms such as X and Telegram fuelling tensions. Far-right extremist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson — convicted multiple times — called for mass protests across the UK, and X CEO Elon Musk retweeted his post. Other far-right extremists, particularly in the UK and US, have repeatedly called for marches against British immigration policy.
The violence in Belfast is reminiscent of the summer of 2024, when racist riots broke out across the UK after three girls died in a mass stabbing in Southport. Disinformation about that suspect was spread by far-right extremists, including Robinson, to systematically stoke racist violence online.
According to observers, the most violent riots this week took place in parts of Belfast home to largely Protestant working-class communities.