Homes, cars set ablaze in Northern Ireland over alleged sexual assault
STORY: :: June 10-11, 2025
:: Homes and cars are set ablaze in a Northern Irish town during a second night of riots
:: Ballymena, Northern Ireland
:: The chaos follows a protest over an alleged sexual assault in the area
Calm was restored to Ballymena, located some 28 miles from the capital Belfast, at around 0100 local time (0000 GMT), police said.
A number of cars were set on fire and one lay upside down in flames as police sirens blared throughout the town past midnight.
Officers in riot gear and driving armored vans responded with water cannon and plastic baton rounds after being attacked by petrol bombs, scaffolding and rocks that rioters gathered by knocking down nearby walls, a Reuters witness said.
Hundreds of protesters had gathered in Ballymena earlier on Monday in response to a case involving two teenage boys who appeared in court that day, accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the County Antrim town.
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