Police in Northern Ireland deployed a water cannon on Wednesday night to break up a second night of disorder following a knife attack in north Belfast earlier in the week. The cannon was used at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Glengormley, about eight miles northwest of Belfast city center, where a crowd of around 300 had gathered.
Footage showed dozens of people dressed in black and wearing face coverings tearing up driveways and fences from nearby houses to use as missiles. A large Department for Infrastructure vehicle was set on fire, bins were lit, and petrol bombs were thrown at police lines. The crowd appeared to be attempting to reach a nearby hotel that houses asylum seekers, according to BBC News.
The disorder on Wednesday was not as severe as the violence on Tuesday, when groups of masked men set fire to houses, a bus and cars across Belfast, forcing several families to flee their homes. Riot police came under sustained attack from people throwing bricks, bottles and pieces of wood.
Ahead of Wednesday evening, public transport shut down across Northern Ireland and some schools closed early. Belfast city center was largely deserted by the afternoon as many businesses closed.
The man charged in connection with Monday's knife attack, Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old originally from Sudan, appeared in court Wednesday on charges of attempted murder. The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, who is in his 40s, has lost his left eye, has damage to his right eye, and sustained injuries to his neck and back. His family released a statement Wednesday night saying he was in stable condition.
The family said they had been forced to issue the update after "witnessing a lot of false information on social media." They appealed for "peaceful protest as the only way forward" and said there were "many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our society."
Other gatherings took place across Northern Ireland. About 150 people assembled in east Belfast, where the worst of Tuesday's violence had occurred. Police reported little trouble there. More than 100 people gathered near Ulster University in Coleraine, County Londonderry, where some in the crowd raised concerns with police about houses of multiple occupation in the area. About 140 protesters also gathered at the Stormont estate.
The Times of London reported that the UK has returned only one asylum seeker to Ireland who had crossed the Irish border, and that the government is seeking to clamp down on the route being used as a way into the country. The Daily Telegraph separately reported that people-smuggling gangs are advertising guaranteed passage to the UK via flights to Dublin, exploiting the absence of passport checks between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
