Water cannon fired as second night of violence erupts in Belfast

A water cannon was fired into a crowd of about 300 people who burned a truck and threw bricks and petrol bombs at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Glengormley, eight miles north-west of Belfast, on Wednesday night. The disorder followed a second night of anti-immigration protests after a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday that left Stephen Ogilvie, 44, with the loss of his left eye and damage to his right eye, along with injuries to his neck and back. Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old originally from Sudan, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over the attack. Alodid entered the UK in 2023 and was given refugee status, prompting Jonathan Hall KC, the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, to tell the BBC that it was "absolutely legitimate" to discuss immigration in the context of national security. Hall said the disorder was "extraordinarily destabilising" and asked whether migration should now be considered in terms of national security, not just the economy and housing. The Ogilvie family released a statement condemning the violence, saying they were "feeling disgusted" and that they had been forced to clarify that Ogilvie was in a stable condition after "witnessing a lot of false information on social media". They appealed for "peaceful protest as the only way forward" and noted that there were "many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our society". On Wednesday, riot police came under sustained attack from a group throwing bricks, bottles and pieces of wood. The crowd tore up driveways and fences to use as missiles, set a Department for Infrastructure vehicle on fire, and attempted to set fire to a derelict property, throwing petrol bombs at police lines. The cannon was deployed after a standoff lasting hours. An older woman at a bus stop refused to move, saying she had lived through the Troubles. The crowd had reportedly planned to target a nearby hotel housing asylum seekers. Additional officers were drafted in, but the disorder was not on the same scale as Tuesday's violence. Public transport shut down across Northern Ireland and some schools closed early. Belfast city centre was deserted after many businesses shut by lunchtime. In east Belfast, where major trouble occurred on Tuesday, about 150 people gathered with a large police presence and few arrests. More than 100 people gathered near Ulster University in Coleraine, and there were reports of fires in Derry. A protest at Stormont drew about 140 people and passed off peacefully.