Key facts
- UN human rights chief expressed dismay over recent violence targeting minorities and foreign residents in the UK.
- In Belfast, masked groups targeted homes and businesses of immigrants, setting fire to houses and cars.
- The violence followed a knife attack for which a Sudanese man was charged.
- Britain's minister for Northern Ireland condemned the anti-migrant attacks as 'racist thuggery'.
- Community organizers noted a rise in hostility towards ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland.
- Volunteers assisted in evacuating families and distributing food to those affected.
The UN human rights chief has expressed dismay over recent violence targeting minorities and foreign residents in the United Kingdom. In Belfast, Northern Ireland, masked groups rampaged through streets, setting fire to homes and cars, and targeting ethnic minorities. This unrest followed a knife attack for which a Sudanese man has been charged with attempted murder.
Members of Belfast's ethnic minority communities reported being afraid to leave their homes, with women and children terrified. Some individuals who had fled war in their home countries expressed that the violence echoed past traumas. Community organizers noted that sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland have increasingly been replaced by hostility towards ethnic minorities.
Union volunteers assisted in evacuating at least 30 families who feared they would be targeted. Workers also reported being stopped by vigilante patrols, particularly near hospitals, with some being followed to and from work. A nurse was reportedly chased by masked men within a hospital.
Despite the violence, community responses have also emerged, with volunteers organizing food distribution for affected families. A member of the Belfast Islamic Centre stated that those spreading hate represent a minority, and that Belfast is full of decent people.