Nineteen people have been arrested following days of violent disorder across Northern Ireland, police said Friday, including a 16-year-old boy. The unrest continued into Thursday night despite a relative easing of large-scale violence.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that a fire was set at the rear of an unoccupied house on Shore Road in north Belfast on Thursday night. Two neighboring properties also sustained damage. Police are treating the attack as hate-motivated arson, according to the BBC. A separate car fire was extinguished after an arson attack on the Glenshane Road in Derry at 00:30 BST on Friday. That incident, near Tamnaherin Road, is also being treated as a racially motivated hate crime.
Police also reported race-hate graffiti in the Dee Street and Newtownards Road areas of east Belfast.
The disorder was sparked after footage of a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday night spread widely on social media. Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old originally from Sudan, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over the attack, which caused serious injuries to the victim, Stephen Ogilvie. Violence broke out across Northern Ireland on Tuesday night, with homes, businesses, and vehicles targeted. Further disorder followed on Wednesday, particularly in Glengormley and Portadown, where police deployed water cannon. Twelve officers were injured and 16 people were arrested during Wednesday night's unrest alone.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said it received 46 emergency calls resulting in crews being mobilized to 26 incidents across Northern Ireland on Thursday evening.
Dr. Mukesh Chugh, a doctor who has lived and worked in Derry for more than 20 years and is a leading member of the Indian community in Londonderry, said overseas healthcare professionals are now questioning their presence in the country. "We hear especially from people who come from different nations and people of different colour - their houses are gone, their cars are gone, their windows are smashed," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.
He described messages circulating in a community WhatsApp group about families made homeless overnight, including families with small children.
Dr. Chugh also addressed both communities directly. "We should not judge the whole immigrant community because of one act of violence done by some person in the street," he said. "Same goes for people who are on the roads – I don't believe they represent the good Northern Irish people."
The PSNI said its policing operation will remain in place over the weekend to maintain public order.
