People in city’s minority ethnic communities speak of alarm as violence casts light on racism in Northern Ireland
As widespread violence broke out in Belfast, a list of addresses began circulating on social media. Spread geographically wide, on dozens of streets across the city, the addresses were reportedly houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) where immigrants live.
Joseph and Solomon, who are both from Eritrea, and came to Belfast as refugees, now have leave to remain and work full-time. They live on the same street as one of the properties on the list, but Joseph thought it was theirs that was meant to be on it. “It’s obviously for us,” he said.
Un’altra notte di scontri a Belfast, con 12 agenti rimasti feriti e 16 arresti. I disordini si sono concentrati a Newtownabbey, a circa tredici chilometri a nord dalla capitale, oltre che nelle località di Derry e Coleraine. La polizia antisommossa è stata presa di mira da un gruppo che lanciava mattoni e bottiglie e ha risposto con gli idranti. Nel complesso le violenze sono state meno intense rispetto a quelle della notte precedente quando a Belfast c’era stata una vera e propria caccia allo straniero con diverse case incendiate, alimentata dai gruppi dell’ultradestra dopo l’accoltellamento brutale del quarantenne Stephen Ogilvie da parte del rifugiato sudanese HadiAlodid. Il ministro per l’Irlanda del Nord, Hilary Benn, ha dichiarato che una “teppaglia razzista” ha diffuso la paura “tra le minoranze etniche dell’Irlanda del Nord”.
A influenzare il clima di tensione, per il comandante di Scotland Yard, Mark Rowley, ci sono i gruppi dell’ultradestra, che hanno alimentato discorsi d’odio e gli appelli a scendere in piazza via social. Ma Rowley ha evocato anche un possibile coinvolgimento di Russia e Iran per fomentare le tensioni nel RegnoUnito. In un’intervista a Sky News ha ricordato che account e bot erano stati usati da Paesi stranieri per alimentare gli scontri avvenuti nel 2024 dopo l’insensata strage di bambine perpetrata nella città inglese di Southport da un ragazzo nemmeno 18enne, Axel Rudakubana. Inoltre Rowley ha respinto la definizione di “protesta” per quanto sta accadendo a Belfast e nel resto della nazione del Regno: “La gente dà fuoco alle macchine. Non è una protesta, è violenza, è criminalità”.
Se la situazione a Belfast è stata più calma rispetto alla notte precedente, soprattutto dopo il maggiore dispiegamento di forze di polizia, coi rinforzi in arrivo dal resto del Regno, si sono comunque registrati episodi di razzismo contro i cittadini stranieri, in particolare di origine africana, in altre parti della regione. Come riporta il Belfast Telegraph, un’infermiera “di diverso colore della pelle” è stata inseguita da quattro uomini mascherati fino all’Ulster Hospital, nella contea di Down. Inoltre lavoratori e assistenti domiciliari di origine straniera hanno evitato i turni di notte temendo di essere presi di mira dai gruppi di teppisti segnalati in diverse località dell’Irlanda del Nord, come ha dichiarato Ryan Williams, amministratore delegato di ConnectedHealth, società di assistenza sanitaria privata. Intanto la polizialocale ha diffuso le immagini di due giovani a volto scoperto riprese durante i disordini di Belfast, invitando chi è stato fotografato a “farsi avanti ora” e chiedendo la collaborazione del pubblico per identificarle.
It was extreme even for a figure like Nigel Farage. Hours after the police footage of officers handcuffing Henry Nowak on the fatal night of December 3 in Southampton became public and spread like wildfire on social media, the Reform UK leader called on citizens to respond with “pure, cold rage.” The young Nowak had been fatally stabbed by a man of Sikh faith and Asian descent, who later falsely accused him of a racist attack. “I can’t breathe,” the victim shouted up to nine times, to the officers’ disbelief as they moved against him. His cry of agony echoed the words George Floyd uttered on the streets of Minneapolis, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.
Government confirms Jarvis’s move from role as security minister to replace John Healey
Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, is about to hold a press conference about last night’s rioting.
Andy Burnham is facing criticism after saying that he thinks the Waspi women should be entitled to “some” compensation.
I’ll stick by the Waspi women because they deserve some recompense for the unfairness.
One government figure decried Burnham’s intervention as “pathetic”, adding: “He can’t say no to anyone.”
An ally of Sir Keir Starmer likened Burnham’s economic agenda to that of hard-left former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and argued that the mayor’s intervention would harm his chances of manoeuvring the prime minister out of Downing Street.
Andy Burnham’s continued support for Waspi women is both welcome and hugely refreshing. While some politicians have broken their promises, it takes real courage to speak out and say what millions of people across the country and hundreds of MPs from all parties already know - that 1950s-born women deserve justice.
Andy has always recognised the unfair way in which state pension equalisation was introduced.
As mayor of Greater Manchester, he supported Waspi women in the city-region with early access to concessionary travel, providing some recompense to them within affordability limits.
Uomini col volto coperto che sfondano porte, danno alle fiamme le case e danno la caccia agli stranieri. È quanto successo anche nella scorsa notte per le strade di Belfast, capitale dell’Irlanda del Nord, nel Regno Unito. Ondata di disordini anti-migranti di portata senza precedenti. La polizia ha usato idranti per disperdere un assembramento vicino a Belfast, il giorno dopo le rivolte anti-immigrati che hanno scosso la capitale nordirlandese in seguito a un attacco con un coltello attribuito a un rifugiato sudanese. Oltre 100 manifestanti si sono radunati in diverse zone di Belfast, alcuni pacificamente. Poco prima delle 21 ora locale, la polizia ha riferito di aver usato idranti a Sandyknowes, un importante incrocio stradale a nord di Belfast dove, secondo l’AFP, si erano radunate circa 100 persone. “Si sono radunate folle e sono stati lanciati oggetti contro gli agenti“, ha dichiarato la polizia in un comunicato, esortando gli automobilisti a cambiare percorso.
Le immagini trasmesse da Sky News mostravano individui mascherati che tentavano di lanciare quelli che sembravano essere mattoni contro la polizia. A Belfast, dove le strade erano deserte, una manifestazione pacifica a Stormont, sede dell’Assemblea dell’Irlanda del Nord, ha radunato più di 100 persone, secondo la BBC. A Belfast le scuole rimangono chiuse per precauzione. Le immagini scioccanti e le testimonianze finite su media e social mostrano persone portate in salvo dalla polizia su veicoli blindati mentre le abitazioni bruciano alle loro spalle, teppisti mascherati e organizzati in gruppi che battono intere vie lanciando molotov contro auto, mezzi pubblici ed edifici, andando alla ricerca di cittadini di origine africana e in generale di stranieri.
by Will Jones, Daily Sceptic: A Sudanese man has been arrested after an attempted “beheading” in Belfast last night that left a man in his 40s with serious injuries in a “critical” condition. The Mail has more. The graphic scenes of violence unfolded outside an apartment block on Kinnaird Avenue, in the north of the city, at around 10.30pm […]
Elon Musk’s X will face no action to remove a mass of posts inciting violence in Northern Ireland for at least two months, despite widespread condemnation of the platform and its billionaire owner.
Concern over the role social media played in spreading disturbing images and fuelling anger continued to grow on Wednesday as police and community leaders urged calm.
Political and religious leaders in Northern Ireland saw early Wednesday morning — with the embers of a long night of violence in Belfast and other parts of the region still smoldering — that their calls for calm had fallen on deaf ears. Cars, buses, phone booths, and trash cans set ablaze. Homes where immigrants — or simply people from ethnic minorities — were believed to live, completely engulfed in flames after violent groups targeted them as places that needed to be “liberated.”
Hadi Alodid refused legal representation and made no reply to charges which were put put to him through an Arabic interpreter as he appeared in court charged with attempted murder following the Belfast knife attack, the Press Association reports.
The 30-year-old, with an address at Duncairn Avenue in Belfast, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court on Wednesday morning.
He is charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie on Monday, with threatening to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day and with the possession of a knife.
Homes were set on fire in Belfast. Video screenshot/Sky News
Widespread anti-immigration riots broke out across the UK on Tuesday following a particularly violent knife attack in Northern Ireland. The unrest was triggered by news that a thirty-year-old Sudanese national had been charged with attempted murder. Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly condemned the initial attack, labeling it both “horrific” and “sickening,” while stating he has zero tolerance for such violence.
Escalation of violence in Northern Ireland
BREAKING: A bus has been set on fire in Belfast amid protests over the attempted beheading of a man pic.twitter.com/FX8maCMalK
The unrest was most intense in Northern Ireland, where masked mobs caused extensive property damage on Tuesday evening:
Belfast: Riots resulted in multiple homes, a bus, cars, and street barricades being set on fire. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill condemned the rioters, stating that groups of masked men were “burning families out of their homes” in acts of “outright thuggery.”
Newtownabbey & Kilkeel: Blazes spread to neighboring towns, where verified social media footage showed protesters setting several vehicles ablaze.
Wider UK: Smaller, sporadic anti-immigration protests and clashes with police were also reported in other major UK cities, including London, Glasgow, and Bangor.
A large group rioters is attacking migrant HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation, a form of taxpayer-funded housing for asylum seekers) in Belfast. pic.twitter.com/o9yjynArd4
Social media fueling the anti-immigration riots in the UK
The catalyst for the riots was a viral video filmed by a witness during Monday night’s attack in North Belfast. The footage depicts a man pinning a bloodied victim to the ground and repeatedly stabbing him before bystanders and police intervened. Far-right and anti-immigration accounts widely circulated the footage online to mobilize public protests.
Further update from police sources, a property has been set alight in the Lendrick Street area of Belfast.
First Minister O’Neill warned that extremist groups are dangerously exploiting a heinous crime to target and intimidate innocent people who are just trying to live their lives.
The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, June 8 on Canard Avenue in North Belfast. A man in his forties suffered severe wounds to his face, back, and eyes. He remains hospitalized in serious condition. Police recovered a kitchen knife at the scene.
A thirty-year-old man was arrested for attempted murder. Authorities confirmed he had traveled from Paris to Dublin before entering Northern Ireland in February 2023. He claimed asylum upon arrival and was granted legal residency in the UK until 2028.
Protests across the city turned violent on Tuesday night – with some police officers acting as if it wasn’t safe to intervene
On a residential street draped in loyalist flags near Belfast’s Shankill Road, the masked men approached a house with a boarded-up window and a security camera stationed outside.
As a woman from an ethnic minority background looked down from an upstairs window, some of the men rushed the front door and broke it down. With the air thick with smoke from fireworks, they attacked the downstairs windows with bricks.
A Sudanese man has been arrested after an attempted "beheading" in Belfast last night that left a man in his 40s with serious injuries in a "critical" condition.
Badenoch said, after the murder of Stephen Lawrence, it was right that people wanted to ensure this did not happen again.
It led to the Macpherson report, she said.
[It] wanted to put right what went wrong with policing in the 1990s.
However, in attempting to do so, it also enshrined a principle which I believe is wrong that a racist incident is racist if it is perceived as racist by the victim or any other person.
Equality law, properly designed, should protect us all in the same way. It should be a shield, not a sword.
It should protect people from discrimination. It should protect people from being treated differently because of their race, sex, religion, sexuality, disability or age.
Login
BREAKING: A bus has been set on fire in Belfast amid protests over the attempted beheading of a man 
