People going to work have been challenged over their nationality, causing fear and intimidation for ethnic minorities, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said on Thursday in the wake of a second night of violence in Belfast.
A nurse was “chased and intimidated” on her way to Ulster Hospital.
Masked rioters clashed with police near a migrant hotel on Wednesday evening after a “hit list” of locations was shared on social media.
Police used water cannon on rioters as they were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs. Twelve officers were injured and 16 arrests were made during violence seen in the wake of Monday’s stabbing assault. A 30-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker has been remanded in custody accused of attempted murder.
Footage showed dozens of men dressed all in black and wearing face coverings, tearing bricks from properties and smashing paving stones with sledgehammers to create projectiles to throw at police.
Rioters attempted to set fire to a derelict property near a petrol station, with some throwing petrol bombs at police lines. One rioter accidentally set himself on fire as he threw a petrol bomb.
Sinn Fein assembly member Gerry Kelly said on Facebook said the scenes in north Belfast on Wednesday evening were “despicable”.
“The masked-up racists intent was to violently attack innocent migrant families they believed were housed in the Chimney Corner hotel,” he said.
“When the police blocked their way, they dug up residents’ pavings and demolished garden walls and fences to use as weapons. Petrol bombs were also thrown. They represent no one but themselves – pathetic.”
Mr Benn said there had been less disorder than Tuesday evening as he condemned the “racist thuggery”.
He said the two nights of violence had created a “sense of fear that has spread among ethnic minority people in Northern Ireland”.
“They’ve heard about people being stopped in their cars on the way to work to be asked what their nationality is,” he said. “This is not what Northern Ireland is about, not the true Northern Ireland.
“We’re talking about a very small number of thugs engaged in this kind of activity.”
He said that people were being “burnt out of their homes because of the colour of their skin”.
There is a great responsibility on anyone who has any influence over the rioters to persuade them to stop, he said.
Asked during a BBC interview if the attacks were racist, Mr Benn said: “If you are burning people out of their homes shouting ‘foreigners out’, what other word would you use?”
South Eastern Trust condemned a “racist” attack on a nurse on her way to work at Ulster Hospital on Wednesday night.
The trust commended her for “bravely” insisting on remaining at the hospital to care for people.
“The South Eastern Trust is horrified that a nurse on her way to work last night was chased and intimated,” it said in a statement.
“We utterly condemn this racist attack. This nurse bravely insisted on remaining in the Ulster Hospital to care for the most vulnerable in our community.
“Her behaviour is in stark contrast to the behaviour of the people who terrified her as she tried to do her job. The trust values and champions diversity and inclusion."
Mr Benn was critical of social media companies who had allowed a list of addresses to attack to be shared, saying it could be a criminal offence.
“People who live a long way away from Northern Ireland and know nothing of Northern Ireland are trying to stoke the flames of this disorder,” he said.
He said putting up an address and inciting people to go there to attack it was not his definition of freedom of speech.
X owner Elon Musk has been criticised for sharing posts seen to be encouraging the disorder.
The social media platform is among those to have been contacted by the communications regulator Ofcom about online content potentially linked to scenes of violence in Northern Ireland.
“We are aware that following recent disorder some social media users are posting address details online, or sharing these through communication apps,” the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.
“Highlighting properties in this way is totally unacceptable. We have received phone calls from a number of families, house owners, neighbours and members of the wider community who are extremely distressed as a result of this reckless activity.
“This is unacceptable. It is putting lives at risk and has to stop.”
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Belfast suffered a second night of riots after a stabbing. AFP -
A burnt-out car. A 'hit list' of locations was shared on social media. EPA -
Bins on fire. Twelve officers were injured and 16 arrests were made. Reuters -
People clean the street next to a burnt-out bus. AFP -
Protesters and police near a hotel previously believed to house migrants. AFP -
Police blocked the road to the hotel. AFP -
Firefighters near the hotel. Getty Images -
Rioters attempted to set fire to a derelict property near a petrol station, with some throwing petrol bombs at police lines. EPA -
A man wears a 'Stop the Boats' hoody, referring to vessels crossing the English Channel loaded with migrants. Reuters -
Police fire water cannon at protesters near the Sandyknowes roundabout. PA -
More burnt out vehicles. A Sudanese man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the assault on Monday night. PA -
A house that was set on fire in the riots. PA -
Social media footage showed a man stabbing the victim’s head and neck as he lay on the ground. PA -
Firefighters and riot police on the streets. PA -
Vehicles set on fire. The leaders of the main political parties in Northern Ireland issued a joint statement condemning the stabbing. PA -
Police officers take cover from protesters. Getty Images -
Masked youths block a road with burning debris. AFP -
The suspect had leave to remain status in the UK after being granted refugee status in 2023. Getty Images -
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the attack as 'sickening'. PA -
A man addresses the rioters with a megaphone. PA
Cabinet Office minister Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent told the House of Lords on Wednesday that 27 people were made homeless on Tuesday night “because people went door-to-door to try to target foreign nationals to burn them out of their homes”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to “crack down on anyone who is fuelling this division”.
Hadi Alodid appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack in which the victim, Stephen Ogilvie, lost an eye.
Mr Ogilvie, who is in his 40s, is in a stable condition in hospital in Belfast, his family said. It is understood he is in an induced coma.
Mr Ogilvie’s family urged people to stop sharing “false information on social media” about the attack. They were “feeling disgusted” by the recent disorder, they added.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that to do this in response is not supported by our family, and peaceful protest is only ever the way forward,” they said.
“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including from within our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work.
“We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility – do not do this in the name of our loved one as we do not share the same values.”
