Violent anti-immigration protests broke out across Belfast on Tuesday night, with demonstrators setting vehicles and buildings ablaze and blocking roads following a knife attack allegedly carried out by a Sudanese refugee.
Gatekeepers News reports that hundreds of protesters, many wearing masks, gathered at multiple locations across the Northern Ireland capital, according to AFP journalists at the scene. A bus and several vehicles were set on fire, while a building near the city centre caught fire, forcing residents to evacuate.
One resident, Eemran, an engineer of Indian origin who has lived in Belfast for just over a year, described the chaotic scenes.
“By 7:30 pm (18:30 GMT) they started a fire in the bins. We heard police cars and sirens,” he said.
“More and more people started coming, they started throwing petrol bombs. Suddenly the fire started going. We had smoke inside the building. Fire people came in and they said ‘go down’.”
Camila, a 36-year-old Chilean who recently moved to Belfast, said the violence was unsettling.
“Of course I’m not used to it,” she said. “I understand the people’s rage but also there are ways of discussing these things more peacefully.”
Television footage showed additional buildings engulfed in flames as police helicopters monitored the situation from above. Several businesses also closed early amid the unrest.
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill strongly condemned the violence and appealed for calm.
“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” she wrote on social media.
“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.”
Demonstrations were also reported in the town of Antrim, about 25 kilometres west of Belfast.
Meanwhile, tech billionaire Elon Musk drew attention after reposting a message by anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, commonly known as Tommy Robinson, adding: “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!”
The suspect in the stabbing, whose identity has not been disclosed, was later charged with attempted murder, possession of a bladed weapon in a public place and making threats to kill. The 30-year-old is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
Following public demands for information from anti-immigration campaigners, including Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe, the UK Home Office confirmed that the suspect is a Sudanese refugee whose residence permit remains valid until 2028.
Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher said the man arrived in the United Kingdom in 2023 via Paris and Dublin.
The unrest comes amid heightened tensions over immigration across parts of Britain. Last week, protests and clashes also occurred in Southampton following controversy surrounding the handling of the killing of a young student.
The Belfast attack, captured in a widely circulated video, showed a man repeatedly slashing another man who was lying on the ground. Several bystanders eventually intervened, with one person using a hurling stick before police arrived at the scene.
Authorities said the victim, a man in his 40s, sustained serious injuries to his eyes, face and back and was taken to hospital for treatment. Police also recovered what is believed to be a kitchen knife from the scene.
The leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main political parties jointly condemned the attack, stating that “there is no place in our society for this kind of brutality.”
Political leaders and police have urged the public not to share the graphic footage, warning that doing so could further traumatise those involved.
Police Chief Boutcher said the suspect was not listed on any national security database and had no previous record with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The incident has reignited debate around immigration, an issue that has become increasingly prominent in British politics and has contributed to the growing popularity of anti-immigration movements and parties in recent years.
