Northern Ireland stabbing sparks two nights of riots and displacement
A knife attack in Belfast left a man seriously injured and triggered riots that displaced more than two dozen residents and injured police officers.
A stabbing on a Belfast street on Monday night left victim Stephen Ogilvie with severe facial and head injuries after attacker Hadi Alodid used a kitchen knife, police said. Video of the incident and the passerby who restrained the suspect spread widely on social media. While receiving treatment for a hand wound, Alodid told medical staff he had killed someone, according to a detective testifying in court. Police have not disclosed a motive and do not consider the case terrorism-related. Alodid entered no plea at a Wednesday hearing and was remanded in custody.
Following the attack, groups wearing black hoods and masks threw bricks, rocks and stones at police, set fire to bins and burned vehicles and homes, officials said. More than two dozen people were forced to leave their homes and 12 police officers were injured. "When the attack happened on Monday night, we knew this would be coming," Sudanese refugee Twasul Mohammed told the BBC, describing the fear among displaced families.
Police used water cannons to disperse protesters in Belfast on Wednesday, and two officers in Carrickfergus were injured by fire-bombs. Politicians from both sides of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government condemned the violence.
The unrest follows similar disturbances after other high-profile stabbings in the United Kingdom, where suspects of Black or Asian background and white victims have fueled anti-immigrant rhetoric. Analysts noted that misinformation on social media has amplified tensions, and officials warned that online disinformation contributes to public disorder.
