Belfast rocked by second night of anti-migrant violence after stabbing; water cannon deployed

A city on edge

More than 200 protesters gathered at several points across Belfast and its surroundings on Wednesday night, some peacefully, before tensions escalated in the Glengormley area north of the capital. A large police contingent was deployed as demonstrators threw stones and bottles at officers. A cleaning truck was set on fire, along with numerous tyres used as barricades. The crowd had hostile intentions to storm the Chimney Court Hotel, a facility where immigrants are often housed while their asylum claims are processed.

We urge members of the public not to be duped into violent disorder by people online inciting awful behaviour.

Tuesday's destruction

The previous night saw more severe vandalism. Hundreds of masked protesters attacked properties across the region after a video of the knife attack, in which the victim lost an eye, went viral on social media. A Sudanese man has been charged with attempted murder. Several social housing units where immigrants are accommodated were burned, forcing families to flee quickly. Vehicles were set alight in east and north Belfast, and arson attacks on homes and businesses owned by people of colour were reported in towns including Ballyclare and Portadown.

Jamie Corry, a 33-year-old resident, watched his terraced home burn. "I was actually standing right there watching my whole house just go up, slowly but surely, and that was it. There's literally nothing I could have done about it," he told Reuters. Despite his loss, Corry expressed some sympathy with the anger. "It's people that's angry, lashing out, you understand why. I mean one of our own people's basically been butchered in the middle of the street."

Online incitement

The violence cannot be separated from the online world it spawned from. Footage of the knife attack in north Belfast began circulating on Monday evening, 8 June. Platforms like TikTok and X were flooded with comments about the identity of the perpetrator, a Sudanese man in his thirties granted leave to remain in the UK. Far-right activist Tommy Robinson urged supporters to protest against what he called an "invader attack", providing a list of locations across the UK for Tuesday night. His post was amplified by Elon Musk, who urged citizens to protest "repeatedly and loudly" to change immigration policies. Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe pledged his party would support mass deportations and reintroduction of the death penalty. Anonymous WhatsApp messages called for men aged 18 and over in Northern Ireland to "be prepared to fight or be arrested".

Contact details and addresses where immigrants live have been shared, inciting further protests.

Official response

Britain's media regulator warned online platforms of possible legal consequences if their services are used to incite violence. The UK Security Minister rejected the disturbances. Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable John Boucher urged calm. In anticipation of further unrest, numerous businesses across the province closed early, some companies recommended remote work, and public transport services cancelled several train and bus lines from a certain hour.

Echoes of the Troubles

The scenes have brought back dark memories for a region still scarred by three decades of sectarian conflict. The Troubles, fought mainly between Catholic Irish nationalists seeking unity with Ireland and predominantly Protestant pro-British loyalists, claimed more than 3,600 lives. On Corry's street, bunting with British flags fluttered from walls next to charred windows and doors, while burned wreckage from houses was piled next to destroyed cars.