Second night of disorder rocks Belfast as stabbing victim’s family calls for calm

Belfast: Police unleashed water cannons on hundreds of protesters in a second night of riots in Belfast over migration, hours after a Sudanese asylum seeker appeared in court over a shocking stabbing attack likened to an attempted beheading.

The protesters sought to force their way past the police to reach a hotel being used to house asylum seekers outside the Northern Ireland capital, with men in black masks lighting fires in the street and hurling bricks at police.

But the police formed a line of armoured vehicles and deployed water cannons to push the protesters back from their target, the Chimney Corner Hotel, and prevent a potential repeat of the first night of the riots, when anti-immigrant groups set fire to the homes of migrant families.

The protesters were supported by hundreds of local residents who stood behind them on Wednesday night (about 5am on Thursday, AEST) in the Glengormley and Newtownabbeyand district, defying calls from political leaders and police to stay at home and end the unrest.

In the central areas of Belfast, meanwhile, local residents also took to the streets where rioters had set a public bus alight and torched private homes the previous night, but they did not repeat the mayhem of the Tuesday night riots.

The family of the victim of a horrific knife attack pleaded with the public to reject the riots that swept through the city on Tuesday night.

The family statement came after police charged a Sudanese asylum seeker, Hadi Alodid, 30, with attempted murder after a shocking assault on Monday night that sparked a political storm over crime and migration.

Belfast residents prepared for the second wave of protests by closing stores and cafes early on Wednesday, shutting schools and leaving the city centre for their homes in case anti-immigrant gangs returned.

The victim of the stabbing attack, Stephen Ogilvie, is in hospital after losing his left eye and suffering severe damage to his right eye, as well as incurring deep cuts to his face and back.

Ogilvie’s parents issued a statement on Wednesday to thank the onlookers who rushed to his aid before police could arrive to detain the suspect.

“We are completely devastated by the horrific attack on our loved one on Kinnaird Avenue,” they said.

“This has been a massive shock to our whole family, and right now, our only priority is being at his bedside and helping him recover.

“We are aware of the tensions and talk of protests following this incident. We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward.

“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work.

“We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”

New details emerged about Alodid when he faced Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning (about 8pm AEST) and was refused bail.

The court heard Alodid had allegedly threatened to kill a National Health Service radiographer on Monday night. He is due to appear in court again on July 8.

Conservative politicians including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Restore leader Rupert Lowe seized on the events to step up their calls for a halt to migration and the deportation of migrants already settled in the UK, turning the attack into a national debate over migration.

They and others expressed outrage that Alodid had been allowed into the UK by travelling from Sudan to France and then flying from Paris to Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, before catching a bus to Belfast. In doing so, he took advantage of the lack of border checks on people travelling from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher called the riots on Tuesday night an “act of self-harm” by those who took part because of the damage to the community, and he revealed that he had called in help from other police forces to prepare for further protests.

“This disorder is an insult to the victim of this assault, an insult to the members of the public who bravely stepped forward to save his life and the officers who rushed to the scene,” he said.

“If you have a niece, nephew, brother, sister or a member of your local sports club, if you’ve seen them at the disorder, stop them from coming out today. This has got to stop. We cannot have a society that allows this to happen.”

Police have acted against some of those who took part in the riots on Tuesday night, including a 39-year-old man charged with rioting and a 42-year-old charged with rioting, attempted criminal damage and assault on a police officer.

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