Belfast saw widespread riots on Tuesday after police charged a Sudanese migrant with attempted murder following a knife attack and attempted beheading that left a man with serious injuries, including the loss of his left eye. Vehicles were set ablaze, homes were damaged by fire, and police came under attack as protests spread through the city.
The uproar followed Monday's stabbing in north Belfast, where the victim, identified as Stephen Ogilvie, suffered severe injuries until a passerby broke up the attack by swatting him with his hurley stick. Police announced Tuesday that a man in his 30s had been charged with attempted murder and was due to appear before Belfast Magistrates' Court. The man was later identified as Hadi Alodid. In a hearing on Wednesday, the court was told that Ogilvie suffered serious injuries to his right eye, lost his left eye, and had deep slash wounds to his head, face, and back, per the New York Post.
Alodid reportedly told authorities that he committed the stabbing, saying, “I have killed someone. I don’t know if they are dead." He also allegedly threatened to kill a radiographer on the same day, reportedly telling them, "I will kill you."
According to Breitbart UK, protesters set fire to multiple vehicles, including a city bus and a police vehicle. In other areas, burning trash cans were pushed into roadways as crowds gathered through the evening. Emergency services were also called to residential properties after fires broke out in east Belfast, forcing some residents to leave their homes. Reports additionally emerged of petrol bombs being thrown at police officers in the Cloughfern area.
Political leaders urged calm as the situation developed. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill condemned both the original attack and the subsequent disorder. “This has nothing to do with community. This is outright thuggery,” she wrote.
O'Neill added, “The attack in North Belfast was heinous and wrong. But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here.”
She further criticized attacks on homes and residents, saying, “Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice… Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur. There can be no excuse and no justification for these attacks tonight. No one wants to see this on our streets and I again appeal for calm.”
The unrest came almost exactly one year after anti-migrant riots broke out in Northern Ireland following criminal charges against two Roma teenagers in Ballymena. Those disturbances lasted several days and led to reports of arson attacks targeting homes, with some families of Romanian and Bulgarian heritage leaving affected areas.
Ahead of Tuesday night's disorder, Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister urged residents not to respond with violence. While acknowledging public anger over the stabbing and immigration issues, he said that violent protests would distract from political debates and provide opponents an opportunity to shift attention away from concerns raised by demonstrators.
Police remained deployed across Belfast late into the evening as authorities worked to restore order and investigate the incidents.
The uproar followed Monday's stabbing in north Belfast, where the victim, identified as Stephen Ogilvie, suffered severe injuries until a passerby broke up the attack by swatting him with his hurley stick. Police announced Tuesday that a man in his 30s had been charged with attempted murder and was due to appear before Belfast Magistrates' Court. The man was later identified as Hadi Alodid. In a hearing on Wednesday, the court was told that Ogilvie suffered serious injuries to his right eye, lost his left eye, and had deep slash wounds to his head, face, and back, per the New York Post.
Alodid reportedly told authorities that he committed the stabbing, saying, “I have killed someone. I don’t know if they are dead." He also allegedly threatened to kill a radiographer on the same day, reportedly telling them, "I will kill you."
According to Breitbart UK, protesters set fire to multiple vehicles, including a city bus and a police vehicle. In other areas, burning trash cans were pushed into roadways as crowds gathered through the evening. Emergency services were also called to residential properties after fires broke out in east Belfast, forcing some residents to leave their homes. Reports additionally emerged of petrol bombs being thrown at police officers in the Cloughfern area.
Political leaders urged calm as the situation developed. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill condemned both the original attack and the subsequent disorder. “This has nothing to do with community. This is outright thuggery,” she wrote.
O'Neill added, “The attack in North Belfast was heinous and wrong. But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here.”
She further criticized attacks on homes and residents, saying, “Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice… Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur. There can be no excuse and no justification for these attacks tonight. No one wants to see this on our streets and I again appeal for calm.”
The unrest came almost exactly one year after anti-migrant riots broke out in Northern Ireland following criminal charges against two Roma teenagers in Ballymena. Those disturbances lasted several days and led to reports of arson attacks targeting homes, with some families of Romanian and Bulgarian heritage leaving affected areas.
Ahead of Tuesday night's disorder, Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister urged residents not to respond with violence. While acknowledging public anger over the stabbing and immigration issues, he said that violent protests would distract from political debates and provide opponents an opportunity to shift attention away from concerns raised by demonstrators.
Police remained deployed across Belfast late into the evening as authorities worked to restore order and investigate the incidents.
