Anti-immigration protests have escalated into clashes with police in several towns in Northern Ireland this week, marking a new wave of unrest to hit the United Kingdom.
Disorder in towns across the region continued for a fourth night on Thursday. In Portadown, County Armagh, a crowd used bricks and masonry from a derelict building to throw at police. Anti-immigration protests have escalated into clashes with police in several towns in Northern Ireland this week, marking a new wave of unrest to hit the United Kingdom.
Disorder in towns across the region continued for a fourth night on Thursday. In Portadown, County Armagh, a crowd used bricks and masonry from a derelict building to throw at police. Riots in Ballymena erupted after the Romanian teenagers appeared in Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday on sexual assault charges, which they denied. A Facebook post advertised a “peaceful protest to show our anger at what cannot and will not be tolerated in this town”.
The planned gathering began in Ballymena at 7:30pm (18:30 GMT). A crowd assembled at Clonavon Terrace in the town, where the alleged assault had taken place, and police officers presided over a largely peaceful demonstration. Police said several masked individuals later broke away from the group and began erecting barricades and attacking private properties housing immigrants. They also attacked police officers with smoke bombs, fireworks, bottles and bricks, leading to clashes which have continued for several days since.
Some residents placed UK flags or signs in their windows reading “British household” and “locals live here” in a bid to avoid being targeted.Sky News reported seeing ethnic minority residents of the town “packing up suitcases and leaving their homes”.
One mother of two, Mika Kolev, told the BBC her home had been damaged by rioters on Tuesday night. She said she intended to leave her home with her family and is considering moving back to Bulgaria. “This is my house, I pay rent,” she said. “I feel like this is my country, this is my city. My daughter was born here. It’s very scary.” In the past, this sort of violence has usually taken place in towns like Ballymena, which are a stronghold of UK unionism. However, there were media reports that Catholics had also joined the protests this time.
Northern Ireland endured decades of conflict between unionists – largely Protestants who want it to remain within the UK – and nationalists – primarily Catholics who wanted to reunite with the rest of Ireland. Paramilitary groups played a significant role in the sectarian conflict known as the Troubles, which lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement established a power-sharing arrangement.
Source: Here