Belfast burns and fury boils over in Northern Ireland as thousands protest after migrant knife horror
Police and politicians have pleaded with calm after Monday’s knife attack sparked widespread anger
Fires and unrest ripped through Belfast on Tuesday night as mass protests broke out after a Sudanese migrant was charged with attempted murder.
Protesters set fire to a bus in the city and firefighters had to remove residents from their homes in another street after flames spread to properties.
More than 200 masked men and youths broke off from a main gathering in Cloughfern to torch the bus, while several cars were seen ablaze later into the evening.
GB News understands the Glider bus had been hijacked before the fire broke out.
Across Belfast, roads were blocked and vehicles were set alight.
Fire crews fielded 256 calls and reported to 62 incidents, the majority of which were in Belfast.
In the east, masked groups have approached locals with cameras – as well as a GB News crew – urging them firmly to leave and stop recording.
Residents with doorbell cameras are thought to have been told to turn them off ahead of the disorder.
A bus was set on fire in Belfast
Cars were torched in residential streets, with some residents evacuated from their homes
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Protesters set fire to a bus in the city amid fury over Monday’s knife attack
Further afield, demonstrations are underway across Northern Ireland – with protests also unfolding in cities in Britain.
Police and politicians have pleaded for calm after Monday night’s attack, which has seen the 30-year-old migrant charged with attempted murder, making threats to kill and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
The charges mean reporting restrictions around the attack are in place.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said “sporadic pockets of disorder” have broken out in a number of locations across Northern Ireland.
“We are urging everyone to remain calm, act responsibly, and avoid any activity that could place themselves or others at risk,” he said.
The PSNI deployed its Tactical Support Group units and arranged for a helicopter to oversee the response following reports of demonstrations across Ulster tonight.
Hundreds of protesters have gathered across Northern Ireland
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Masked men also set fire to a wheelie bin in the Northern Irish capital
Though unlike in protests seen in Britain, police presence has been intentionally limited around Belfast in a bid to cool the risk of violence.
Protesters assembled in other corners of the province, including Antrim and Londonderry.
Democratic Unionist Party MLA Paul Givan, who attended a peaceful protest in Lisburn, urged demonstrators not to “distract” from their concerns about uncontrolled immigration.
He said: “It is important that people do conduct themselves in a peaceful manner to make sure that the key issues here around immigration can be heard and we are not distracted by any form of violence.
“That will only distract. People should express their views in a peaceful manner.”
Late on Tuesday, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill – who earlier accused GB News of “fake news” – described scenes of violence in Belfast as “outright thuggery”.
The PSNI is calling for calm across Ulster
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She said: “Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice.“This has nothing to do with community. This is outright thuggery. The attack in North Belfast was heinous and wrong.
“But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here. Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur.
“There can be no excuse and no justification for these attacks tonight. No one wants to see this on our streets and I again appeal for calm.”
And Arlene Foster, the former First Minister said she watched the unrest “with great sadness”.
“This is not only wrong – we condemn the violence absolutely – but it’s counter-productive,” she told Sky News.
A separate protest took place in Southampton, where demonstrations took place last week following the murder of 18-year-old finance student Henry Nowak.
London and Glasgow also witnessed protests in connection to the incident in Northern Ireland.
The 30-year-old suspected attacker entered Northern Ireland by crossing over from the Republic of Ireland in 2023.
He made the journey to the UK after leaving Sudan and eventually arriving in France.
However, the Home Office quickly approved his asylum claim shortly after arriving in Northern Ireland and granted him leave to remain in the UK until 2028.
He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The alleged victim, who was identified as a man in his 40s, suffered injuries to his eyes, back and face.
Despite the alleged attacker crossing over from the Republic of Ireland, Dublin’s Department of Justice said it was “not in a position to comment”.
