A 30-year-old man from Sudan is due in a Belfast court on an attempted murder charge following a vicious stabbing attack that left a victim seriously injured and triggered anti-immigrant violence across parts of Northern Ireland.
Masked men set several homes they believed to house immigrants on fire, burned trash bins and a Belfast bus, and pelted police with objects on Tuesday night. Firefighters rescued several people from the burning homes.
Politicians from both sides of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government condemned the violence. First Minister Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Fein described it as 'thuggery,' stating, 'Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice.' Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, of the Democratic Unionist Party, added that 'taking frustration at the evil actions of a person out on those who had no part in it is utterly wrong.'
Monday's attack, captured in graphic video footage that spread rapidly on social media, was seized upon by anti-immigration activists. The victim, a man in his 40s, was hospitalized with serious injuries to his eyes, face, and back after being attacked in north Belfast.
Police stated that the suspect is a Sudanese man who entered Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland in 2023, applied for asylum, and was granted a five-year permit to remain. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said there is no information to suggest the attack is terrorism-related and they are not seeking other suspects.
The street violence erupted despite calls for calm from politicians. Prime Minister Starmer condemned the stabbing as 'sickening' and expressed 'no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets.'
Protests were encouraged online by far-right activists, including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long criticized social media agitators who 'yesterday would have struggled to find Belfast on a map' for 'weaponizing' the fears of local people. She told the BBC, 'If you're driving people from their homes based on nothing but the color of their skin, you can't dress that up any other way, it's racism, and those bad faith actors need to take a step back.'
Last week, a separate case of a university student stabbed to death in Southampton, England, in December was seized upon by activists and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who blamed immigration for the violence. 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 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 to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term. 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.
