Northern Ireland police appeal for calm after asylum seeker arrested over Belfast stabbing
In short:
Hundreds of anti-immigrant protesters have taken to the streets of Belfast, after police charged a Sudanese man over a knife attack.
Homes, cars and a bus have been set alight.
Northern Ireland's main political party leaders jointly have condemned the attack, calling it "horrific", and also called for calm.
UK leaders have called for calm after the arrest of a man accused of a vicious stabbing on a Belfast street, sparking anti-immigration protests because the suspect is an asylum seeker.
Warning: This story contains details that may cause distress.
Police said the victim, a man in his 40s, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries to his eyes, face and back after he was attacked in the street in Northern Ireland late on Monday, local time.
Footage shared on social media showed a number of members of the public trying to fight off the attacker before police arrived, and they were credited by senior officers with saving the man's life.
A 30-year-old Sudanese man, who was not named, was held in custody and charged with attempted murder, possession of a knife in a public place and making threats to kill. A kitchen knife was found at the scene.
Loading...Police were trying to determine the motive, but there was no information to suggest the attack, which was caught on video, was terrorism-related, said Ryan Henderson, assistant chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
He said police were not seeking anyone else connected to the attack.
"This brutal attack will have sent shock waves through the community, causing real concern,"he said.
Northern Ireland's leaders and the chief constable held a news conference urging people not to incite hate and fear or target particular communities after media reported that protests were planned in response to the incident.
Protesters gathered near the site of the attack in Belfast and also in Southampton, England, where the recent sentencing of a man who killed a university student with a knife led to violent clashes with police.
People watch as a vehicle burns during a protest in Belfast. (AP: Peter Morrison)
Masked youths gathered at points across Belfast, with police responding by deploying armoured vehicles.
Television pictures appear to show youths setting fire to a bus in East Belfast.
A few dozen protesters blocked Parliament Square in London.
Northern Ireland's first minister Michelle O'Neill has condemned the violence in Belfast, with a statement on social media.
She posted on X:
"Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice.
This has nothing to do with community.
This is outright thuggery."
Police vehicles come under attack from protesters in Belfast. (AP: Peter Morrison)
The Belfast attack sparked immediate questions about the suspect's immigration status, including from some politicians.
Gavin Robinson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, urged authorities to curb "uncontrolled immigration".
Northern Ireland Chief Constable Boutcher told reporters the suspect was living in the UK under a five-year visa granted in September 2023.
Anti-immigration protests have flared up across Belfast. (AP: Peter Morrison)
He said the man was believed to have travelled from Sudan to Paris and Dublin before claiming asylum in Belfast.
The suspect was not known to Northern Irish police, he added.
When pressed on the question in parliament, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he could not confirm whether the alleged attacker came to the UK illegally.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attack as "sickening" and said he had "no tolerance for abhorrent scenes of violence like this on our streets".
His office said: "It is time for calm."
"It's important that police have the time and space to investigate appropriately," it added.
Police say the victim suffered significant injuries to his eyes and slash wounds to his face and back. (AP: Peter Morrison)
Police and senior politicians urged people not to share graphic images of the attack that had been circulating online, or to spread disinformation about the situation.
A separate case in which a university student was stabbed to death in Southampton, England, in December has been seized on by activists and US Vice-President JD Vance, who have blamed immigration for the violence.
When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded Mr Nowak as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.
Vickrum Digwa was convicted of murder for stabbing Mr Nowak with a Sikh dagger. He was sentenced last week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term.
But the case has spurred heated debate about policing and race, and a protest over Mr Nowak's death turned violent, with some people attacking police with chairs and rocks.
Several people were charged with violent disorder over the protest.
AP/Reuters