N Ireland hit by third night of ‘racist' violence, main flashpoint calmer
Riots have erupted for a third consecutive night in Northern Ireland, with police condemning the violence as 'racist thuggery' that erupted following an alleged sexual assault.
A few dozen masked rioters in the primary flashpoint of Ballymena attacked police, but the unrest was on a smaller scale in the town on Wednesday night compared with previous days.
Youths threw rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers in riot gear as armoured vehicles blocked roads in the town. Police also deployed water cannon for the second night in a row, but the clashes were far smaller than the previous nights, when five people were arrested and more than 30 police officers were injured. Much of the crowd had left the streets before midnight.
Small pockets of violence also erupted in the town of Larne, located 30km (18 miles) west of Ballymena, where masked youths smashed the windows of a leisure centre before starting fires in the lobby, footage widely shared on social media showed.
Gordon Lyons, the communities minister in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, had earlier said a number of people seeking refuge from the anti-immigrant violence in Ballymena had been temporarily moved to the leisure centre.
Lyons's post drew sharp criticism from other political parties for identifying the location where the families had taken shelter. Youths also set fires at a roundabout in the town of Newtownabbey, according to police, while debris was also set alight at a barricade in the town of Coleraine.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he 'utterly condemns' the violence which had left 32 police officers injured after the second night of disturbances.
Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly appeared together on Wednesday to voice their condemnation.
O'Neill told reporters in Belfast: 'It's pure racism, there is no other way to dress it up' while Little-Pengelly described the scenes in Ballymena as 'unacceptable thuggery'.
Violence initially flared on Monday in Ballymena – a town of 30,000 people located 44km (28 miles) from the capital Belfast with a relatively large migrant population – after a peaceful vigil was held for a teenage girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault on Saturday.
Two 14-year-old boys accused of carrying out the attack appeared in court on Monday. Communicating in court via a Romanian interpreter, the pair denied the charges, according to local media reports.
Police said the trouble began when people in masks broke away from the vigil and began 'build[ing] barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties'.
Tensions remained high throughout Tuesday, with residents saying 'foreigners' were being targeted. Two Filipino families fled their home in the town after their car was set on fire, the Reuters news agency reported.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher warned that the rioting 'risks undermining' the criminal justice process in the sexual assault allegations.
Some Ballymena residents have begun marking their front doors to indicate their nationality to avoid attack, according to the Belfast Telegraph newspaper.
Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson also said the violence was 'clearly racially motivated' and 'targeted at our minority ethnic community'.
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Al Jazeera
19 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Why have anti-immigration riots broken out in Northern Ireland?
Anti-immigration protests have escalated into clashes with police in several towns in Northern Ireland this week, marking a new wave of unrest to hit the United Kingdom. Disorder in towns across the region continued for a fourth night on Thursday. In Portadown, County Armagh, a crowd used bricks and masonry from a derelict building to throw at police. About 40 officers have been injured, and 15 arrests have been made. Protests began in Ballymena, a town of about 31,000 people located 40km (25 miles) northwest of the city of Belfast, on Monday when two Romanian 14-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. The most intense violence took place on Tuesday in Ballymena, when hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set buildings and cars on fire. A smaller crowd threw rocks, fireworks and petrol bombs at police on Wednesday, as police officers responded with water cannon. Masked rioters also set fire to a leisure centre in Larne, about 30km (19 miles) away from Ballymena, on the coast, where some immigrant families had been given shelter following the unrest in Ballymena. Violence also spilled over to the cities of Belfast, Coleraine, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Antrim and Lisburn. Riots in Ballymena erupted after the Romanian teenagers appeared in Coleraine Magistrates' Court on Monday on sexual assault charges, which they denied. A Facebook post advertised a 'peaceful protest to show our anger at what cannot and will not be tolerated in this town'. The planned gathering began in Ballymena at 7:30pm (18:30 GMT). A crowd assembled at Clonavon Terrace in the town, where the alleged assault had taken place, and police officers presided over a largely peaceful demonstration. Police said several masked individuals later broke away from the group and began erecting barricades and attacking private properties housing immigrants. They also attacked police officers with smoke bombs, fireworks, bottles and bricks, leading to clashes which have continued for several days since. Some residents placed UK flags or signs in their windows reading 'British household' and 'locals live here' in a bid to avoid being targeted. Sky News reported seeing ethnic minority residents of the town 'packing up suitcases and leaving their homes'. One mother of two, Mika Kolev, told the BBC her home had been damaged by rioters on Tuesday night. She said she intended to leave her home with her family and is considering moving back to Bulgaria. 'This is my house, I pay rent,' she said. 'I feel like this is my country, this is my city. My daughter was born here. It's very scary.' The identity of the hundreds of people – many masked and hooded – who attacked immigrant households and businesses was not immediately clear. In the past, this sort of violence has usually taken place in towns like Ballymena, which are a stronghold of UK unionism. However, there were media reports that Catholics had also joined the protests this time. Northern Ireland endured decades of conflict between unionists – largely Protestants who want it to remain within the UK – and nationalists – primarily Catholics who wanted to reunite with the rest of Ireland. Paramilitary groups played a significant role in the sectarian conflict known as the Troubles, which lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement established a power-sharing arrangement. The agreement, however, has faced opposition from some unionist groups, and some grievances remain unresolved. 'Some working-class unionist areas feel as if they've lost out during the peace process,' sociologist John Nagle, who lectures at Queen's University in Belfast, told Al Jazeera. 'I think the sort of grievances about the peace process are being grafted onto the wider concerns about immigration.' The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said at this stage there was no evidence of unionist paramilitary involvement in the recent violence in the town. However, a report published last month by the independent human rights group Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) points to a connection. The study, titled Mapping Far Right Activity Online in Northern Ireland, analysed seven incidents of anti-immigrant protests that have taken place in Northern Ireland since 2023. Daniel Holder, the organisation's director, said the latest unrest followed a 'fairly familiar pattern'. 'What we noticed … is that they're all being called and taking place in areas where there is significant loyalist activity,' and are featuring a 'degree of paramilitary control', he told Al Jazeera. Holder also said such riots have mostly taken place during the summer, coinciding with the loyalist marching season, a tradition among Protestant and Loyalist communities that runs from Easter Monday to September. He struck a note of caution over accounts suggesting the involvement of Catholic nationalists in the unionist stronghold of Ballymena and said the notion of a broader 'coming together' of the two historic rivals was unlikely. Immigration appears to be the main concern for protesters. Since 2015, more than 1,800 Syrian refugees have been settled in Northern Ireland via the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which was renamed the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme (NIRRS) in 2020. General immigration has been on the rise as well. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member Paul Frew told the BBC that tensions over this have been rising for some time in Ballymena and people were 'frightened about illegal immigration'. Anger about austerity policies – and the retraction of welfare programmes – since the global financial crisis of 2008 has compounded concerns about immigration. Grievances over poor housing conditions and housing shortages, in particular, have been used to scapegoat migrants and to favour a narrative of 'mass uncontrolled migration that simply is not factually true', Holder said. The CAJ report, he said, found no clear correlation between the areas where violence has flared up in Northern Ireland since 2023 and poverty rates or high immigration rates. 'When you look at the pattern of where attacks are taking place, they're not in the most deprived areas,' Holder said. 'What this points to is that attacks involve particular far-right elements, including some elements of loyalist paramilitary organisations, rather than this being tied to either migration levels or deprivation.' Official figures from the Northern Ireland Assembly show that it is the least diverse part of the UK, with 3.4 percent of the population identifying as part of a minority ethnic group, compared with 18.3 percent in England and Wales and 12.9 percent in Scotland. According to the most recent census data in 2021, immigration to Northern Ireland is relatively low, but it is rising. The percentage of the population born outside of the UK rose from 6.5 percent in 2011 to 8.6 percent in 2021. Some ministers have been accused of fanning the flames of unrest. Several ministers condemned the violence in strong terms. First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the 'racist and sectarian attacks on families' were 'abhorrent and must stop immediately'. Finance Minister John O'Dowd described the attackers as 'racist thugs', while Justice Minister Naomi Long said the violence was 'completely unjustified and unjustifiable'. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, who leads the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said, 'Hate-fuelled acts and mob rule do nothing but tear at the fabric of our society.' On Thursday, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons rejected calls for him to resign over a social media post in which he revealed the location of the leisure centre in Larne that was later attacked. Tyler Hoey, a Democratic Unionist Party councillor and local representative, condemned the violence but also accused the UK government of taking 'busloads' of unvetted migrants to the area. Sociologist John Nagle, who lectures at Queen's University in Belfast, told Al Jazeera that several unionist politicians condemned the riots while repeating the unfounded claim that Ballymena had become 'a dumping ground' for migrants. 'Although the government has quickly come out to denounce the protests, to some extent that has been caveated by some politicians who are trying to use this as a way to highlight their opposition towards migration and refugees,' Nagle said. Sociologist Ruth McAreavey, who lectures at Newcastle University, said general surveys show that Northern Ireland has become more welcoming towards migrants over time and less likely to want to see reduced levels of immigration. The Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey found that 94 percent of respondents in 2024 said they would be willing to accept a person from a minority ethnic group in their area, compared with only 53 percent who said they would feel comfortable in 2005. However, McAreavey said fast-paced demographic changes have taken place within a 'socially conservative place' as it navigates global economic upheavals, including the decline of its predominantly industrial economy, most notably in the shipbuilding and textile sectors. 'There is a level of discontent that people are taking to the streets,' McAreavey said, adding that this was compounded by austerity measures that rolled back the welfare state. 'The lack of those resources does not help for the incorporation of different social groups into society and to help achieve social cohesion,' she said. 'People feel they're not in control and things are happening to them, as opposed to a more natural, organic change.'
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Third night of anti-immigrant violence in Northern Ireland town
Hundreds of people gathered on the streets of Ballymena in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, facing police armed with riot shields and water cannon on the third night of disorder in the town. The crowds eventually dispersed without a repeat of the chaotic scenes from the previous two nights, when houses and businesses were torched and 32 police officers were injured. The violence erupted in the town after the arrest of two teenagers accused of attempting to rape a teenage girl. The pair appeared Monday in court, where they asked for a Romanian interpreter. Police have not confirmed the ethnicity of the teenagers, who remain in custody, but areas attacked on Monday and Tuesday included neighbourhoods where Romanian migrants live. Ministers from every party in the province's power-sharing executive strongly condemned 'the racially motivated violence witnessed in recent days'. Residents had been 'terrorised' and police injured, they said in Wednesday's joint statement, urging people to reject the 'divisive' agenda being pushed by a 'destructive' minority. In response to what they termed 'racist thuggery', police deployed riot officers with dogs and have asked forces in England and Wales for help quelling the unrest. On Wednesday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the unrest in Ballymena 'mindless violence'. About 20 miles (32 kilometres) southeast of the town, masked men set a leisure centre in Larne on fire, local media reported. The centre was temporarily sheltering people from Ballymena who had been evacuated. People living in Ballymena described 'terrifying' scenes in which attackers had targeted 'foreigners' over the previous days. Some people fixed signs to their houses indicating they were Filipino residents, or hung up British flags. Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill, the Sinn Fein vice president, called the violence 'abhorrent'. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement that its officers 'came under sustained attack over a number of hours with multiple petrol bombs, heavy masonry, bricks and fireworks in their direction'. Some of the injured officers required hospital treatment. Police Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson on Tuesday denounced the violence as 'racist thuggery' and said it was 'clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police'.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
N Ireland hit by third night of ‘racist' violence, main flashpoint calmer
Riots have erupted for a third consecutive night in Northern Ireland, with police condemning the violence as 'racist thuggery' that erupted following an alleged sexual assault. A few dozen masked rioters in the primary flashpoint of Ballymena attacked police, but the unrest was on a smaller scale in the town on Wednesday night compared with previous days. Youths threw rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers in riot gear as armoured vehicles blocked roads in the town. Police also deployed water cannon for the second night in a row, but the clashes were far smaller than the previous nights, when five people were arrested and more than 30 police officers were injured. Much of the crowd had left the streets before midnight. Small pockets of violence also erupted in the town of Larne, located 30km (18 miles) west of Ballymena, where masked youths smashed the windows of a leisure centre before starting fires in the lobby, footage widely shared on social media showed. Gordon Lyons, the communities minister in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, had earlier said a number of people seeking refuge from the anti-immigrant violence in Ballymena had been temporarily moved to the leisure centre. Lyons's post drew sharp criticism from other political parties for identifying the location where the families had taken shelter. Youths also set fires at a roundabout in the town of Newtownabbey, according to police, while debris was also set alight at a barricade in the town of Coleraine. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he 'utterly condemns' the violence which had left 32 police officers injured after the second night of disturbances. Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly appeared together on Wednesday to voice their condemnation. O'Neill told reporters in Belfast: 'It's pure racism, there is no other way to dress it up' while Little-Pengelly described the scenes in Ballymena as 'unacceptable thuggery'. Violence initially flared on Monday in Ballymena – a town of 30,000 people located 44km (28 miles) from the capital Belfast with a relatively large migrant population – after a peaceful vigil was held for a teenage girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault on Saturday. Two 14-year-old boys accused of carrying out the attack appeared in court on Monday. Communicating in court via a Romanian interpreter, the pair denied the charges, according to local media reports. Police said the trouble began when people in masks broke away from the vigil and began 'build[ing] barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties'. Tensions remained high throughout Tuesday, with residents saying 'foreigners' were being targeted. Two Filipino families fled their home in the town after their car was set on fire, the Reuters news agency reported. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher warned that the rioting 'risks undermining' the criminal justice process in the sexual assault allegations. Some Ballymena residents have begun marking their front doors to indicate their nationality to avoid attack, according to the Belfast Telegraph newspaper. Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson also said the violence was 'clearly racially motivated' and 'targeted at our minority ethnic community'.
