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Anti-immigrant protests flare up across Belfast after brutal knife attack
Hundreds of anti-immigrant protesters took to the streets of Belfast on Tuesday, with some setting vehicles alight, after police charged a Sudanese man over a knife attack that left one person with serious neck and head wounds.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the attack, which took place in north Belfast late on Monday evening, as “sickening.” Video of it was shared widely on social media.
His office said “it is time for calm,” adding that “it’s important that police have the time and space to investigate appropriately.”
The knife attack, which is currently not being treated as terrorism, comes at a time of heightened tensions in Britain following the murder of a student who was handcuffed by police as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer, a Sikh man, falsely alleged a racist attack.
It also follows repeated protests about immigration, with populist parties saying Britain’s asylum policy had allowed dangerous men into the country. There was anti-immigrant rioting in Northern Ireland last year amid anger over an alleged sexual assault.
Masked youths gathered at points across the city, with police responding by deploying armored vehicles. Protesters set fire to a number of vehicles, including a bus in east Belfast.
The BBC reported that a crowd of 100 men kicked in doors and broke windows of homes on a street in east Belfast. Sky News showed footage of a house on fire.
A few dozen protesters blocked Parliament Square in London.
“I understand that last night’s attempted murder will leave people feeling a range of emotions, from fear to anger,” Northern Ireland’s Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson, who has declared it a “critical incident,” told a press conference.
“I appeal for calm and the safety of all of our communities in response to this.”
The victim, a man in his 40s, suffered significant injuries to his eyes and slash wounds to his face and back during the “brutal” attack, with a kitchen knife found at the scene, Henderson said.
Footage showed a number of members of the public trying to fight off the attacker before police arrived, and they were credited by senior officers with saving the man’s life.
Suspect due in court on Wednesday
The suspect, a 30-year-old Sudanese national, was charged on Tuesday evening with attempted murder, possession of an article with blade or point in a public place, and threats to kill.
He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Police said it was understood he lived locally, having been granted permission to remain in the UK in September 2023 after claiming asylum. He had traveled to Belfast in February that year by bus from Dublin, having flown there from Paris on an unknown date.
“There is no trace of this suspect on any of our national security databases, and he was not known to the Police Service of Northern Ireland,” Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said.
Police were trying to determine the motive, but there was no information to suggest the attack was terrorism-related, said Henderson. He added that police were not seeking other suspects.
“This brutal attack will have sent shock waves through the community, causing real concern,” he said.
Northern Ireland’s main political party leaders jointly condemned the attack, calling it “horrific,” and called for calm, saying disturbances would only damage their communities.
They urged people not to incite hate and fear or target particular communities after reports that protests were planned.
The Belfast attack sparked immediate questions about the suspect’s immigration status, including from some politicians. Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, urged authorities to curb “uncontrolled immigration.”
When pressed on the question in Parliament, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he could not confirm whether the alleged attacker came to the UK illegally.
At the other end of the UK, demonstrators marched in Southampton, England, where the recent sentencing of a man who killed a university student with a knife led to violent clashes with police last week.
Although the victim and convicted killer were both British, protesters stood outside a Southampton hotel that had housed asylum seekers, holding signs that said “Illegal Migration Is Destroying Our Civilisation.”
Henry Nowak, who was white, was killed by Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh who falsely claimed to police that he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded Nowak as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.
Digwa was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with a Sikh dagger and sentenced last week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term. But the case has spurred heated debates about policing and race, and a protest over Nowak’s death turned violent with some attacking police with chairs and rocks. Several people were charged with violent disorder over the protest.
