British leaders called for calm on Monday after a Sudanese man was arrested on suspicion of stabbing a man to death on a Belfast street. The case has sparked anti-immigration protests because the suspect is an asylum seeker, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
The man injured in the attack, a man in his 40s, was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his eyes, face and back after being attacked late Monday night in north Belfast, Northern Ireland, police said.
The suspect is 30 years old and his name has not been released. He has been arrested and charged with attempted murder, possession of a weapon in a public place and making threats to kill. A kitchen knife was found at the scene.
Police are trying to establish a motive but there is no information to suggest the attack, which was caught on video, is linked to terrorism, said Senior Constable Ryan Henderson of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He added that police were not looking for any other suspects.
Northern Ireland's political leaders and the local police chief have urged people not to incite hatred and fear or target specific communities after reports emerged of planned protests.
Protesters wearing black sweatshirts, some wearing masks, torched a bus in east Belfast, while cars and bins were set on fire elsewhere in the city.
The Belfast attack immediately raised questions about the suspect's immigration status. Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, has called on authorities to curb "uncontrolled immigration". Police Chief Constable John Boucher told reporters that the suspect was living in the UK and had a five-year visa issued in September 2023. He is believed to have travelled from Sudan to Paris and Dublin before seeking asylum in Belfast. He is not known to police.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as "disgusting" and said he could not tolerate "horrifying scenes of violence like this on the streets" of the country.
On the other side of the UK, protesters marched in Southampton, England, where the recent conviction of a man who stabbed a student to death led to violent clashes with police last week. Protesters gathered outside a hotel in the city that was housing asylum seekers, holding signs that read "Illegal immigration is destroying our civilization."
Henry Novak, who is white, was killed by Vikrum Digwa, a Sikh who lied to police that he had been the victim of a racist attack by Novak. When officers arrived at the scene, they initially handcuffed Novak before noticing his wound and attempting to revive him. Digwa was sentenced to life in prison last week. Protests over Novak's death have been violent, with demonstrators throwing chairs and rocks at officers. Several people were charged with public order violations.
Protesters in Belfast burned a public transport bus, numerous cars, including police cars, and set fire to several houses, the Belfast Telegraph reported, quoted by world agencies. Anti-immigrant protests have gripped the capital of Northern Ireland after a knife attack by an immigrant from Sudan.
The newspaper published a photo showing a burning police armored car, into which a bottle of incendiary mixture had fallen. Other photos show a burning police car, burned cars and a tractor.
According to the publication, residents in the east of Belfast were evacuated due to a fire. The British public media BBC added that in the same part of the city about a hundred masked men walked through the streets, banging on doors and breaking the windows of homes. They explained their actions by saying they wanted to "kick out the foreigners". The television channel "Sky News" reported a fire in a supermarket selling Middle Eastern products.
The "Times" newspaper reported anti-immigrant protests in Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. The "Daily Mail" published photos of protesters gathered in London and Southampton.