Police in Northern Ireland Use Water Cannons to Disperse Anti-Immigration Protesters

Police in the UK city of Belfast used water cannons to disperse dozens of far-right protesters for a second night, following a knife attack involving a Sudanese refugee. Clashes erupted on Wednesday evening, the same day the family of the stabbing victim appealed for calm and condemned the surge of anti-immigrant violence in the Northern Irish city.

Police reported that protesters threw "incendiary devices," stones, and bottles at officers, with footage showing multiple fires in the streets. Authorities confirmed deploying "water cannons to maintain public order." However, the level of rioting was significantly lower than Tuesday night, when hundreds of masked men set fire to homes and vehicles.

In a statement, the family of victim Stephen Ogilvie said: "We want to make it absolutely clear that the unrest overnight is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward. We have many immigrants making profound contributions to this country... We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or promote hatred." The family also noted that Ogilvie, who lost an eye and suffered severe injuries to his neck and face, is now in stable condition.

The suspect in the attack, a 30-year-old Sudanese national named Hadi Alodid, appeared in court on charges including attempted murder. He has been remanded in custody, and the case was adjourned until July 8. Videos of the stabbing circulated online throughout Tuesday, prompting calls for violent protests on social media. Police had to help a family escape a burning house, while numerous cars and buses were set ablaze. Local politicians and a pastor reported that many targets were Black individuals.

British Minister Ruth Anderson stated that at least 27 people have lost their homes in Belfast "because people went door-to-door trying to target foreign nationals." Jamie Corry, a 33-year-old resident, said he could only watch as his home burned: "I stood there and watched my whole house burn down, slowly but surely. I told them when they set a car on fire, 'that's my property'... and they still didn't care."

The attack comes amid rising tensions in the UK after the killing of a student in Southampton, who was handcuffed by police while dying from stab wounds, after the killer, a Sikh man, falsely claimed a racist attack. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has reposted messages blaming immigration for violence in the UK, sharing a post asserting that "deliberate policies of uncontrolled mass immigration and open borders" are fueling tensions.

Amid calls from Musk and other far-right agitators like Tommy Robinson, the chief constable of Northern Ireland said an additional 200 officers would be deployed on the streets. "These idiots are not just targeting minority communities... they are targeting the whole of society," Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said of Tuesday night's rioters. He noted that police had to bring a family with a two-month-old baby to safety during the violence, which he called "a massive act of self-harm by idiots."

Speaking in London, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the knife attack raised serious questions, but "driving people from their homes is not the right way to respond." He condemned the unrest as "shocking and utterly unacceptable." Meanwhile, Anna Turley, chair of the ruling Labour Party, said online platforms "are playing a role in fueling" the unrest and suggested Musk was among the "bad actors" pouring fuel on the fire.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned what he called "incitement" on social media. "The dehumanization of entire groups within a society is completely unacceptable and truly contemptible," he told reporters in Geneva, adding that the violence in both Northern Ireland and Southampton was "truly shocking." He stressed that social media providers must take seriously their responsibility to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence.

Immigration in Northern Ireland has historically been low, partly due to the three-decade conflict between Irish nationalists (mostly Catholic) seeking unification with Ireland and pro-British Protestant "loyalists" wanting to remain in the UK. However, immigration has increased in recent years, and anti-immigration sentiment has risen in both Northern Ireland and parts of the Republic of Ireland.