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Belfast violence after stabbing
Violence erupted in Belfast after footage of a knife attack circulated online, with masked men burning cars, smashing windows, and setting fires across the city on Tuesday night.
“- Published Families in Belfast, including one with a two-month-old baby, are counting the cost of Tuesday night's violence after being forced to flee their homes in the face of fires”
A 30-year-old Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid, was charged with attempted murder over the knife attack and was ordered held in jail after an appearance by video in Belfast Magistrates' Court.
The attack left victim Stephen Ogilvie seriously injured, with prosecutors saying Alodid was accused of blinding Ogilvie in his left eye during the stabbing.
Northern Ireland police said there is no information to suggest the attack is terrorism-related and they are not seeking other suspects, while CBC News reported municipal workers boarding up broken windows after the unrest.
In Belfast, masked rioters also torched a Belfast bus and pelted police with objects, and firefighters rescued several people from burning homes.
Politicians and activists clash
British politicians accused Elon Musk of stoking racist violence, with Claire Hanna describing the violence as a “race-based pogrom” after masked men targeted immigrant neighborhoods and forced families to flee.
Hanna said the violence was “a race-based pogrom,” naming Elon Musk and Tommy Robinson among prominent figures who spread the stabbing video and called for mass protests.
Labour Party Chair Anna Turley said Musk “is seeking to drive and exploit” the situation “to drive [his] own political agenda,” and she added that “anyone that is seeking to whip [up violence] should be condemned.”
The Belfast Telegraph reported a joint press conference where Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said, “What we saw last night was an insult,” and Secretary of State Hilary Benn added: “It [the violence] is utterly shameful and it needs to stop now.”
Aftermath and enforcement
As families counted the cost of Tuesday night's violence, BBC News NI reported one man watching his home of 13 years burn down on Lendrick Street in east Belfast, saying by the time firefighters arrived his house was “already engulfed in flames.”
“A 30-year-old man from Sudan appeared in a Belfast court Wednesday charged with attempted murder over a knife attack that left a victim seriously injured and triggered anti-immigrant violence in several parts of Northern Ireland”
The BBC also reported that healthcare staff were worried, with Biji Jose of the Northern Ireland Indian Nurses Forum saying junior colleagues were “really worried” about their safety and that people were anxious about “future jobs” and “insecurity about walking around the street freely.”
Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher promised accountability and said he had asked for up to 200 additional police officers to help quell any unrest, with the officers expected to arrive from across Britain within a day or two.
In court, the case against Hadi Alodid was remanded in custody, and the Guardian reported that Stephen Ogilvie’s family wanted to “make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome,” while calling for “peaceful protest” as the only way forward.
