Protesters set fire to cars and homes, as Belfast burns in the wake of a deadly knife attack on a migrant.
Anti-immigration protests erupted in Northern Ireland on Tuesday after a shocking knife attack on a Sudanese man – masked protesters smashed windows, set fire to homes and torched buses.
Tensions flared after a 30-year-old Sudanese man, who is facing attempted murder, attempted to behead a man in Belfast on Monday night, in disturbing video footage.
The bloodied victim kicked his legs before the madman repeatedly stabbed him in the head and neck, the video was shared by Turning Point UK.
“Get away from him, you king rat!” one woman screamed as the confused attacker brandished his weapon – while a man shouted, “He’s trying to cut her head off. He’s cutting her head off.”
Some frightened locals rushed to mediate, including one who beat a stick with a stick.
The victim, a 40-year-old man from an unknown area, was left with serious injuries to his eyes and serious wounds to his back and face, the police said of this “brutal” incident.
Far-right activists on social media have called for more immigration protests following the stabbing incident.
Crowds of angry protesters, including masked men, hijacked cars, burned homes, police cars and vandalized businesses in Belfast, the BBC reported.
Emergency services stormed the city after protesters broke down doors and set fire to several homes along the Crumlin Road in north and east Belfast – displacing long-term residents and billowing with black smoke, the outlet reported.
Masked protesters smashed windows and kicked in doors while shouting “they’re taking out the immigrants.”
Wild footage captured a Glider bus engulfed in flames and billowing smoke after it was hijacked and set on fire.
Northern Ireland’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill, dismissed the vandalism as an “inadvertent crime.”
“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is abhorrent cowardice,” O’Neill wrote in X. “This has nothing to do with society.
“The attack in North Belfast was horrific and terrible. But there are dangerous attempts to use that to target and attack innocent people who are just trying to live, work, and raise their families here.”
The motive for Monday’s horrific attack remains unclear, but so far police have “no information to suggest that this was a terrorist-related incident,” said Ryan Henderson, deputy chief constable of Northern Ireland, at a press conference on Tuesday.
The suspect was living in the UK “under a five-year visa,” Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, told the House of Commons – saying he “should not be sentenced and deported on the first flight.”
SpaceX founder Elon Musk also posted on X that “It’s only by protesting AGAIN AND AGAIN that there will be any change!!” in response to a list of scheduled shows sent by far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson.
Henderson called for a reduction in anger after the violence, the Guardian reported.
“Unrest has broken out in many places across Northern Ireland this evening, including a number of car burning incidents,” Henderson said.
“We urge everyone to remain calm, act responsibly, and avoid any activity that could put themselves or others at risk.”
