Anti-immigration group says the North will burn until politicians solve crisis
Police Officers in Portadown were targeted with petrol bombs, fireworks, masonry, bricks and bottles.
Police Officers in Portadown were targeted with petrol bombs, fireworks, masonry, bricks and bottles. The disturbance in the West Street area marked the County Armagh town's second night of unrest, but was at a lower level than seen earlier in the week.
DUP politicians Jonathan Buckley and Carla Lockhart on the ground in Portadown.
Pacemaker Press 13/06/2025 Police presence outside the Marine Court Hotel in Bangor as protest held. Photo by Sarah Harkness/Pacemaker Press
Northern Ireland will continue to burn until politicians solve the immigration crisis.
That's the grim warning from a group claiming to represent disaffected residents in Ballymena which has been the seat of widespread racially targeted violence across the Province.
Calling themselves the Ballymena Action Group they insist their actions are not racist and lay the blame for foreign nationals being burned out of their homes at the feet of politicians and police.
In a statement seen by the Sunday World they seek to assure what they call 'hard working honest families'' that they have nothing to fear insisting their targets are eastern European organized crime gangs.
They also claim to have compiled a 40-page dossier on Romanian and Bulgarian crime figures operating in Ballymena as far back as five years ago.
People trafficking, prostitution and drug dealing have been allowed to spread unchecked, they claim.
Pacemaker Press 13/06/2025 Police presence outside the Marine Court Hotel in Bangor as protest held. Photo by Sarah Harkness/Pacemaker Press
News in 90 Seconds - 15th June 2025
Chillingly they say the time for dialogue is over and have vowed to take the law into their hands as they intend to reclaim the streets of Ballymena.
The statement comes in the wake of a week of the worst street violence seen here since last year's race riots in Belfast.
This time the violence has spread to Larne where the local leisure centre was torched as it provided sheltered for families forced from their homes in Ballymena.
Portadown has seen some of the worst violence, more than 20 police officers were injured during rioting on Friday evening and in Coleraine a family was burned out of their homes.
In Bangor a protest outside a seafront hotel which has been used to accommodate asylum seekers passed off peacefully amid a heavy police presence.
There had been fears of violence in the seaside city after graffiti appeared on walls in some areas warning foreign nationals they had 24 hours to get out.
In one instance a warning slogan was daubed on the front door of a house.
There is no indication the troubled is being orchestrated by paramilitary groups although police said individual paramilitary members are undoubtedly involved and there has been a level of orchestration, particularly in Portadown.
DUP politicians Jonathan Buckley and Carla Lockhart on the ground in Portadown.
In their statement the Ballymena Action Group said the violence was an expression of frustration.
'Levelling names such as racist and thugs does not help,' they said, 'it is due to years of being ignored by politicians, the great and the good, understanding the issues and working to resolving them is better than calling names.
'We do not support violence of any description but fully understand the frustration felt .'
Tensions remained high across the Province over the weekend, police leave has been cancelled and the overstretched PSNI has been bolstered with the arrival of 80 officers from the Scottish police after a plea for help.
Certain politicians have come under fire for what has been viewed as inflammatory language. TUV leader Jim Allister was criticized for referring to 'unfettered immigration' and claiming that 'busloads' of eastern Europeans are entering Northern Ireland from the South.
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons is facing calls for his resignation after the DUP referenced that Larne Leisure Centre was housing displaced foreign nationals. Within hours the building was set alight forcing a children's swimming class and a yoga class to flee through the back door.
Ballymena Action Group say they will not be deterred and are set on their course of action until the immigration is resolved.
'To all politicians and representatives it is time to work to resolve problems and not pay lip service to them.
'It is time we are back on the streets only this time its different. Call us racist if you want but it won't deter us. We're not interested in dialogue with authorities or councillors so don't even try to contact us, been there, done that, nothing changed.'
Police Officers in Portadown were targeted with petrol bombs, fireworks, masonry, bricks and bottles. The disturbance in the West Street area marked the County Armagh town's second night of unrest, but was at a lower level than seen earlier in the week.
The statement sent to the Sunday World claims the PSNI has been handed a file of evidence against named east European individuals.
'We handed a 40 page dossier to police five years ago, pictures, names and addresses and much more on the Romanian and Bulgarian mafia gangs in Ballymena and look where we are today.
'We're going after the rapists the drug dealers and traffickers in these communities coz no one else is.'
It was the only reference, albeit oblique, in their statement to the incident which sparked the violence. The alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in the Clonavon Terrace area of Ballymena was the subject of peaceful protests in the town last Sunday and Monday nights.
Two Romanian teenagers have appeared in court on charges of attempted oral rape, which they deny. The young girl's family has called for an end to the violence stating that the disruption is retraumatizing her.
Videos circulating on social media claim to show a man arrested in connection with the alleged assault showing off a bundle of cash. He was named in the video and the Sunday World understands he has left the area.
The Ballymena group insist they have no interest in law abiding families despite a number being forced from their homes, some of them having lived her for more than 10 years.
Police Officers in Portadown were targeted with petrol bombs, fireworks, masonry, bricks and bottles.
Ukrainian nationals fleeing the war in their homeland are among those affected.
'Hard working honest families do not need to fear us, we are here for you as well
'Any information given to us on these scumbags will be treated with the utmost confidence and will be thoroughly investigated and acted upon. '
Security chiefs are braced for another week of street violence. Scenes of burning homes and attacks on police have gone viral across the world.
Videos on TikTok are attracting huge numbers. One live feed of violence in Ballymena was viewed more than two million times.
The racial violence is at odds with Northern Ireland's status as the least culturally diverse region of the UK.
Foreign nationals represent only three per cent of the population, according to official government figures there are only 1,500 eastern European nationals living in the North.
On Friday evening police in Portadown deployed water cannon to tackle rioters who were attacking them.
Officers were targeted with petrol bombs, fireworks, masonry, bricks and bottles.
Earlier on Friday, police released photos of four suspects they wanted the public to help identify in connection with the disorder.
Police have made 17 arrests following disorder in various parts of Northern Ireland, with 13 charged.
Four have appeared in court and been remanded in custody.
In a statement the PSNI told the Sunday World: 'As a Police Service we value community intelligence to support the delivery of effective policing and we take all submissions seriously. Any reports of criminal behaviour and potential activities is robustly assessed and investigated.'
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