Belfast 'hit list' of migrants' homes circulated ahead of second night of riots
Riots raged in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, for a second night, with masked men in balaclavas targeting ethnic minorities after a "hit list" of homes housing foreign nationals was circulated.
The disorder was triggered by a knife attack on Monday allegedly carried out by a Sudanese asylum seeker, who has been charged with attempted murder.
Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK, allegedly attacked a man on a residential street with a knife in what many commentators have described as an attempted beheading.
The victim, a man named Stephen Ogilvie, lost his left eye and suffered serious cuts to his face. His family said in a statement on Wednesday that "we have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country. We do not want this terrible tragedy to divide people and fuel hostility."
Riots first broke out in Belfast on Tuesday night, as hundreds of masked men torched homes and vehicles belonging mostly to ethnic minority residents.
On Wednesday evening, masked rioters fought with police near a hotel accommodating migrants in northern Belfast.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it was contacted by several "extremely distressed" families whose homes were on a hit list circulated among rioters.
The PSNI warned that people sharing the document "may be committing a criminal offence".
Footage on Wednesday showed police officers firing a water cannon and plastic bullets at rioters, who tore bricks from properties to throw at buildings and officers.
Rioters were seen trying to set an abandoned building on fire. Others set wheelie bins alight.
Streets across Belfast were blocked off by rioters, and masked men set up checkpoints to monitor passing cars for non-white people.
They did this with makeshift roadblocks made of street furniture. Men were filmed looking into cars before allowing them to pass.
'This has nothing to do with community. This is outright thuggery'
– Michelle O'Neill, first minister of Northern Ireland
On Tuesday, rioters had sought out homes of those believed to be migrants, asylum seekers or refugees.
Footage showed children being carried out of houses next to the ones set alight.
A Middle Eastern supermarket was set on fire and a local pastor, Jack McGee, told the BBC that residents were forced out of their houses "because they're black".
Men filmed kicking in doors and smashing windows said they were "getting foreigners out".
'Things will continue to kick off'
Anti-migrant protests were held elsewhere in the UK on Tuesday night, including in Glasgow, where 300 men in balaclavas were seen marching through the streets and attacking passers-by.
Muslim worshippers had to be locked in the city's Central Mosque for their safety by police as men surrounded the building.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced disorder as "shocking and completely unacceptable" on Wednesday morning.
Other politicians have gone further. Scottish First Minister John Swinney blamed “the Nigel Farages of the world” for stoking tensions.
Michelle O’Neill, the first minister of Northern Ireland, said: "Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice. This has nothing to do with community. This is outright thuggery."
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski argued: "What we are witnessing in Belfast is not an isolated incident – it is part of a coordinated far-right pattern playing out across these islands... We will not allow racism and fascism to be normalised on any of our streets."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage struck a different note when he said on Wednesday that "things kicked off in Belfast last night in a very big way, and things will continue to kick off".
He added: "I'm very open about the fact that some very bad actors get involved in this stuff, but not the vast majority.
"The vast majority are fearful. The vast majority want action. They actually want something done to make their streets safer and nothing is being proposed."
He added that "the fear is this stuff gets worse".
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and billionaire X owner Elon Musk urged people to demonstrate over the knife attack hours before the rioting began on Tuesday.
Musk posted on X: "Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!"
Then on Wednesday, Musk posted: "Murderous migrants beheading innocent people in their home town is what’s making people angry, not “social media”!"
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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