Masked Men Set Fires in Belfast After Sudanese Asylum Seeker Knife Attack

Violence erupted across Belfast after a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday night, with homes and vehicles set on fire and a man in hospital with serious wounds.

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AFR

BBC reported that emergency services were called to the Kinnaird Avenue area in north Belfast on Monday night and that a man believed to be Sudanese was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Al Jazeera

The BBC said PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson praised those who intervened as "heroic" and said they had "saved the life" of the victim.

In Belfast on Tuesday night, masked men set houses, vehicles and a city bus ablaze after a graphic video of the alleged knife attack by a Sudanese asylum seeker went viral, according to The Washington Post.

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill condemned the unrest in a statement, saying, "Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice."

The BBC reported that Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn repeated the police appeal not to share footage of the attack out of respect for the victim and his family.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In a statement on X, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, "There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities," and added that those responsible would "feel the full force of the law."

DW reported that Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher called the riots "a huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots" and said he was looking at deploying a further 200 officers to the streets in the aftermath.

Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old man from Sudan, appeared in Belfast Magistrates' Court via video link and was charged with attempted murder, possession of a bladed article in public and threats to kill, with DW reporting he was ordered to be held in jail.

“In short: Hundreds of anti-immigrant protesters have taken to the streets of Belfast, after police charged a Sudanese man over a knife attack”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The BBC said Alodid was refused bail and was remanded into custody to appear in court again on 8 July.

The Washington Post reported that the attackers torched neighborhoods across Belfast after a Sudanese asylum seeker was arrested and accused of stabbing a man, as the unrest convulsed the United Kingdom.

NPR said UK leaders called for calm after the arrest of the Sudanese man accused of trying to kill a man in a Belfast street stabbing that sparked fiery anti-immigration protests, and quoted Ryan Henderson saying, "This brutal attack will have sent shock waves through the community, causing real concern."