BELFAST: Belfast steeled itself Wednesday for a second night of violence directed at immigrants in Northern Ireland, unrest that authorities say is being stoked by far-right activists on social media.
Several schools closed and businesses shut early after a Sudanese man appeared in court over a brutal knife attack that triggered Tuesday evening’s unrest in the British province’s capital.
Police were bolstering their presence after masked rioters torched vehicles and buildings, forcing families to flee their homes, in scenes that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer branded “shocking and completely unacceptable”.
The violence, which spread to Scotland, comes as tensions in the UK are already high. There were skirmishes in southern England last week over the police handling of the murder of a white student by a British Sikh man.
Anselme Shima, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and who has lived in Northern Ireland since 2013, called the situation “terrifying”.
“I have two children at home and this morning I am wondering, ‘Can I send them to school?’” the 48-year-old told AFP Wednesday.
Calls for more protests circulated on Wednesday.
Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher said the force was looking to add a further 200 officers to the streets, while local transport authorities cancelled bus and train services for Wednesday evening.
Boutcher said police had to take a baby as young as two months old and its family to safety during Tuesday’s disorder, which he branded “a huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots”, many of whom appeared to be young men.
The violence followed widespread condemnation of a stabbing allegedly committed by Hadi Alodid, 30, a refugee originally from Sudan, on a man in his 40s who a court heard lost an eye in the attack.
Alodid made a brief appearance at Belfast Magistrates’ Court charged with attempted murder. He was also charged with possession of a bladed article in public and threats to kill.