Riots have erupted for a third consecutive night in Northern Ireland, with police condemning the violence as “racist thuggery” that erupted following an alleged sexual assault. A few dozen masked rioters in the primary flashpoint of Ballymena attacked police, but the unrest was on a smaller scale in the town on Wednesday night compared with previous days.
Police deployed water cannon for the second night in a row, but the clashes were far smaller than the previous nights, when five people were arrested and more than 30 police officers were injured.
The violence began after a peaceful vigil was held for a teenage girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault on Saturday. Two 14-year-old boys accused of carrying out the attack appeared in court on Monday, denying the charges.
Police said the trouble began when people in masks broke away from the vigil and began “build[ing] barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties”. Tensions remained high throughout Tuesday, with residents saying “foreigners” were being targeted.
Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly appeared together on Wednesday to voice their condemnation. O’Neill told reporters in Belfast: “It’s pure racism, there is no other way to dress it up” while Little-Pengelly described the scenes in Ballymena as “unacceptable thuggery”. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also condemned the violence, saying he “utterly condemns” the riots that had left 32 police officers injured after the second night of disturbances.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher warned that the rioting “risks undermining” the criminal justice process in the sexual assault allegations.
Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson also said the violence was “clearly racially motivated” and “targeted at our minority ethnic community”. Some Ballymena residents have begun marking their front doors to indicate their nationality to avoid attack, according to the Belfast Telegraph newspaper.
The unrest has also spread to other towns, including Larne and Newtownabbey, where youths set fires and smashed windows. Gordon Lyons, the communities minister in Northern Ireland, had earlier said a number of people seeking refuge from the anti-immigrant violence in Ballymena had been temporarily moved to a leisure centre, which was later attacked by rioters.