It was a night of terror in Belfast as hundreds of masked protesters unleashed a furious wave of anti-immigrant attacks, torching homes and vehicles. The reason for the outbreak of riots was , who is accused of a brutal attack with a kitchen knife against a 40-year-old man.
Police in Northern Ireland say they have arrested a Sudanese man in his 30s for a brutal stabbing attack in Belfast late Monday night. Graphic video of the incident shows a man straddling another man lying in a street and slashing him several times in the head and neck with a…
— CBS News (@CBSNews)
The shocking attack, which was captured on video and immediately went viral, sparked an explosive cocktail of anger at a time when immigration tensions in Great Britain are already in the red.
‘Heinous act of cowardice’ – Belfast neighborhoods on fire
Images broadcast by the BBC and Sky News capture the scale of the devastation. Groups of youths, with their faces covered, gathered in various parts of the city, forcing the police to deploy armored vehicles. In east Belfast, a mob of about 100 men began smashing doors and windows of houses.
REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
“They’re being thrown out of their homes, just because they’re black,” Pastor Jack McKee told the BBC in shock.
🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM: Riots break out this evening in , Northern Ireland, houses and vehicles are set on fire and police cars attacked, during demonstrations called by the far right after an attempted beheading in the street, perpetrated by…
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises)
In one of the night’s most dramatic incidents, firefighters and police rescued families from a burning apartment block in the city center after Molotov cocktails were thrown. “Suddenly there was smoke in the building and we were told to get out. It’s a bit terroristic,” one resident fearfully described.
Anti-immigrant protests erupted in Belfast following charges against a Sudanese man for a knife attack, leading to heightened tensions
— Reuters (@Reuters)
The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, condemned the events unequivocally: “There is no justification for these attacks. Groups of masked men, setting fire to houses where families live, is nothing but a heinous act of cowardice.” The riots subsided late in the evening, mainly due to heavy rain.
The “dance” is being dragged by Elon Musk and the extreme right
The outburst of violence was no accident. British far-right figures, most notably Tommy Robinson, used social media to call for nationwide protests.
Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
In fact, they received the open support of the owner of “X” (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk, who with his post added more fuel to the fire, estimating that “only with repeated and strong demonstrations, there will be change”.
The climate in Britain is already tense. Just a week before, there were violent incidents in Southampton, on the occasion of the murder of the white student Henry Novak by a young Sikh, who had falsely accused Him to the police of a racist attack, as a result of which Novak died in handcuffs. The country’s populist parties are taking advantage of the climate, complaining that immigration policy is allowing “dangerous people” to enter the country.
Who is the 30-year-old perpetrator – How was the victim saved?
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the initial knife attack as “disgusting”. According to Deputy Police Chief Ryan Henderson, the 40-year-old victim has serious injuries to his eyes, face and back. His life was saved thanks to the heroic intervention of bystanders, who tackled the attacker and immobilized him until the police arrived.
The 30-year-old Sudanese national, who was granted leave to remain in Britain in September 2023 and arrived in Belfast in February via Dublin, faces serious charges. He was charged with attempted murder, possession of a sharp object in a public place and threats to kill, and is due to appear at Belfast Crown Court today. Police clarified that the incident is not being treated as terrorism at this time.
