Northern Ireland police used water cannons to disperse far-right protesters in Belfast after small fires were lit and bricks, stones, and bottles were thrown at security forces during a second consecutive night of unrest. The incident followed a knife attack on the city's streets.
On Wednesday, masked protesters pried bricks from the walls of homes and used sledgehammers to break up sidewalks, hurling the debris at riot police. The clashes occurred hours after a 30-year-old man appeared in court in Belfast charged with attempted murder in connection with the knife attack.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said an additional 200 officers were deployed on the streets Wednesday, and the force is also seeking support from other services.
Politicians from both parties in the Northern Ireland government condemned the violence. First Minister Michelle O'Neill of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein described the behavior as "thuggish." Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party said "it is absolutely wrong to vent anger about one person's evil actions on people who are not involved."
Hilary Benn, the UK minister responsible for the region, also told Sky News on Thursday that the violence and days of anti-immigration unrest were "racist thuggery." Last week, a separate incident involving a university student fatally stabbed in Southampton, southern England, in December was exploited by activists and U.S. Vice President JD Vance to blame immigration—an argument rejected by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and UK politicians.
