People were forced to flee their homes in Belfast as anti-immigration riots swept the city. Houses, businesses and vehicles were targeted and set on fire, as violence erupted on Tuesday, June 9, following a serious knife attack that took place the night before.

Hundreds of people gathered throughout the capital of Northern Ireland, following calls for protests on social media, including from far-right politicians and public figures like Elon Musk. Men aged 18 and over were encouraged to wear dark clothing and prepare “to fight or be arrested”, and some arrived wearing face masks or balaclavas.

Homes, businesses, cars, bins, and a stopped Glider bus were set on fire, as emergency services attended up to 62 incidents across the city. “The majority of these incidents were in the Greater Belfast Area where an additional 21 fire appliances from across Northern Ireland were required to meet demand,” a spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said.

The riots in Belfast unfolded after a 30-year-old man inflicted multiple knife wounds on another man in his 40s, causing serious injuries to his eye, face and back. The attack, which happened in the Kinnaird Avenue area, was broken up by a member of the public, who fought off the perpetrator with a hurley.

Suspect Hadi Alodid was remanded in custody at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, June 10, after being charged with attempted murder, threats to kill an NHS radiographer and possession of a knife. The victim, Stephen Ogilvy, remains in a serious condition in hospital and is said to have lost his left eye.

Speaking about the riots, Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long condemned social media agitators who “yesterday would have struggled to find Belfast on a map” for “weaponising the fear that people genuinely have about what happened”.

“Ultimately, if you’re driving people from their homes based on nothing but the colour of their skin, you can’t dress that up any other way; it’s racism, and those bad-faith actors need to take a step back,” Long told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Claire Hanna described the scenes as “absolutely heartbreaking and disgusting”.

She continued: “We saw young children burnt out of their homes, property destroyed and community infrastructure attacked. This is not something any of us want to see on the streets of the place we call home.”

Hanna said that the actions were “nothing short of a racist pogrom”, adding that “Of course people have the right to be angry and upset about the attack in north Belfast, but that was seized upon as an excuse to bring masked men and disorder onto our streets and target innocent people…

“There are people across Northern Ireland living in real fear today. Unable to go to work, unable to send their children to school and wondering if their home will be the one to burn tonight. These are our friends, our neighbours and people who make a real contribution to our society. It is shameful that anyone is being forced to live with that fear.”

Similar to Long, Hanna condemned far-right agitators for using their influence on social media to “light the touch paper and then sit back while communities suffer the consequences and young people ruin their lives”. She concluded her statement saying, “I once again appeal for calm and political leadership in the hours and days ahead. We can have no repeat of the scenes we witnessed last night.”

Clean-up has commenced across Belfast, but there are unverified social media claims about further planned protests today, June 10. Judge Steven Keown, who heard the case of the stabbing, warned that the courts also “won’t tolerate” emergency services coming under attack, and anyone involved in violence in the community can “expect to go to prison, and that message should be sent out loud and clear”.

 

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