Chef slashed with knife and restaurant petrol-bombed in suspected racist attack
The trouble began outside the Marka Cadey restaurant on North Frederick Street in Dublin's north inner city on Friday evening. The first incident occurred shortly after the end of a far-right protest in the capital.
Chef Mukhtar Yaamat said he heard a commotion outside the premises at around 5 pm, which led to a man running inside the restaurant for shelter. When he went to investigate, he saw a group of men fighting. Chef Mukhtar Yaamat shows the stab wound to his head. Pic: Fran Veale
Mr Yaamat described how the man was trying to flee inside the restaurant, away from a group of young teenagers who were trying to attack him. Videos show the group confronting the restaurant owners and trying to get them to send the man back outside.
When he tried to intervene and calm the situation, the chef was sliced across the forehead, suffering a minor injury. However, he believes that had he not tried to move away from the knife, his injuries could have been a lot worse.
He told Extra.ie: 'I heard these noises, like fighting outside, so I went to see what was happening. Then there were guys trying to come into the restaurant. One had a big knife. I tried to move back but he hit me here [his forehead]. I know I am lucky. But I am here, and I am working as a chef. All I want is peace. I don't want any of this.' The Marka Cadey restaurant on North Frederick Street in Dublin's north inner city. Pic: Fran Veale
After he was injured, Mr Yaamat's colleague took over from him for the rest of the shift. Those involved in the initial fight said they would be back to burn out the restaurant. Abdul Ali, restaurant manager, said the teenagers involved in the fight said in front of gardaí they were going to set fire to the restaurant.
He told Extra.ie: 'They said they are coming back and they will set the place on fire. That is what they said. They said this in front of the garda. So, I say to the gardaí, 'What should we do?' and he said that if they come back to call 999. That's it.
'They came back with the petrol and set it on fire. It is dangerous here. We need gardaí here. This whole area needs gardaí here 24 hours a day. There is so much drug dealing as well. We need it to stop.' Abdalah Hassan Ibrahim, who works as a chef at the restaurant. Pic: Fran Veale
When the chef who took over from Mr Yaamat – Abdalah Hassan Ibrahim – went to the front of the restaurant after the petrol bomb incident, his jacket caught fire. Showing his injuries to Extra.ie yesterday, he said he was lucky to be alive.
Speaking through a friend who interpreted, he said: 'It all caught fire, my face is injured and my arm is burned. I am lucky.' Manager Mr Ali added: 'He's lucky to be alive, he really is. These people have a problem with some guys and someone came inside and they want to bring them outside. But if you bring them outside, they will kill them. So, we try to calm down the situation.'
Mr Ali added that the teenagers, who are all under 18, do not care about the gardaí because they are all underage. Asked if he believed the petrol bomb was a result of racism, he said: 'Yes, that's the main reason.'
The chefs, as well as the eatery owners, said their restaurant is always very busy and is a meeting place for many members of the Somali community in Dublin. When Extra.ie visited, customers came and went, with many coming to see if their friends were okay after the attack.
Mr Ali said the incident could have been a lot worse, considering how close the fire was to the main gas feed for the restaurant. 'If the fire went there, the whole street was gone,' he said. 'It was so close to going up. It was crazy. We just want to run our business.'
Gardaí told Extra.ie: 'Gardaí responded to a report of a public order incident on Hardwicke Street, Dublin 1, shortly after 5pm [on] Friday, July 4. A male, aged in his 40s, was observed with a non-life-threatening injury but did not require immediate medical attention.'
'Separately, An Garda Síochána said they are investigating an incident of criminal damage as a result of a fire that occurred at a premises on Frederick Street North, Dublin 1, shortly after 11.30pm on Friday, July 4. A male, aged in his 50s, was brought to hospital by gardaí as a precaution,' they said. 'Investigations are ongoing.'
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