Police Deployed In Riots In Belfast, Between Anti-Islam And Anti-Racism Protests
Police deployed in attacks concerning anti-immigrant protest riots in Belfast. As the rioting spread throughout the University neighbourhood of the city, several businesses came under attack.
A tense situation started taking its form when one of the groups of national residents came from the Lower Ormeau road and confronted the far-right grouping. The police had to take a stand to make an instant intervention.
(Also read: Gardai Find A Man Responsible For The Death Of A Woman In Cork)
There are several mosques in the University area where the police had to step in. Violent scuffles started instigating both groups that turned into extreme riots ultimately. The groups moved out to the roads of Ormeau streets, south of the city.
The anti-immigrant groups also showed up on the road to take part. Earlier, plenty of people came for an anti-racist counter-protest on the same area of the road. The gathering started around 11:30 am for the rally regarding ‘Union over Division’.
It was an exhibition of support for Muslim communities. Some of the banners in the rally said “no to racism” and “refugees are welcome”.
Following the deaths of three young children in Southport, social media posts with anti-immigration sentiment quickly took the stage.
Within no time, both groups were involved in the exchange of insults along with small fireworks, even missiles, being thrown at each other, producing serious tension in front of the City Hall.
The anti-immigration started chanting “Islam out” and opened union flags in front of the faces of the other group. The anti-racism group took a clear stance in the form of a massive riot in Belfast.
A few moments after the riots began, Irish tricolour flags started spreading in the area as a result of the anti-Islamic protest. It was initiated by a group from Coolock when the anti-immigrants arrived in Dublin.
Operations of the police deployed at the scene
Sinn Fein MLA Deidre Harvey stated that a warning for potential disorder would arise amidst the riots. The police deployed in these circumstances posed a reason, which was to handle the on-the-spot situation if such fears came to life.
The police have already sent notification to those participating in the progressions, which most probably took the shape of riots in Belfast, that these actions are illegal since they are not in the knowledge of the Parades Commission.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Land Rovers and staff started showing up on the road where the riot aggravated. They came to separate the two groups right away. One woman was injured as a result of fireworks in the crowd.
One of the staff members of PSNI was seen taking a man after arresting him in their staff car. The protests involved heated brawls about the killing of three girls at Taylor Swift dance class that took place on Monday in Merseyside, England.
Some false accusations have started surfacing through the internet that the riots in Belfast were initiated by Axel Muganwa Rudakubana (17) who came by boat to the UK, looking for asylum. The accusations could be baseless; the police are on the move to investigate the incident.
The police deployed at the site heard hate speeches and anti-Nazi shouts at the rally. Trade unions and Palestinian flags were seen all over the place.
Various roads are closed in the areas and nearby locations in Belfast “due to ongoing protest activity”, the police cited.
PSNI informed that it was “aware of several planned protests across Northern Ireland today and will be in attendance to ensure the safety of everyone involved”. The officers are given orders to stay at the location and keep a close eye if the slightest flurry is detected.
