Police fire plastic bullets in effort to contain race riots in Northern Ireland | UK news
Police fired rubber bullets and received reinforcements from Great Britain in a bid to control race riots in Northern Ireland.
Police have fired 17 rounds since the unrest broke out on Tuesday, and officers have confronted crowds hurling rocks, petrol bombs and other missiles.
The statement on Thursday comes amid greater condemnation of violence targeting minority ethnic people after a sensational video of a stabbing attack in north Belfast was circulated on Monday night.
Northern Ireland foreign secretary Hilary Benn told Sky News: “If you’re targeting people by the color of their skin, how else can you identify them? This is racist thuggery, there’s no doubt about that.”
Two hundred additional police officers from Great Britain will strengthen the Police Service of Northern Ireland as it prepares for a third consecutive night of possible unrest. 12 police officers were injured and 16 people were detained in the incident. Police also released photographs of two men wanted for questioning.
The Police Federation of Northern Ireland welcomed the reinforcements but said the PSNI was left without 1,200 promised 7,500 police officers due to chronic underresourcement. Federation president Liam Kelly expressed hope that those convicted of rioting would receive the harshest penalties. “Brutal racist and fascist lawbreakers offer nothing but despair and mindless thuggery.”
A 24-year-old woman was charged with disorderly conduct and possession of an article with intent to cause harm; Police said a 28-year-old man was charged with not wearing disguise when asked to do so, obstructing police and resisting police. Both were due to appear at Lisburn magistrates’ court on Thursday.
The police ombudsman confirmed reports that police officers fired rubber bullets. “We were informed that ‘debilitating energy bullets’ were used 17 times by the police,” the watchdog said in a statement on Thursday. “Every incident will now be evaluated by Police Ombudsman investigators.”
The confirmation came after journalists found rubber bullet casings among debris near the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey, which was the scene of intense clashes on Wednesday night and where police used water cannon to disperse rioters.
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland program director, said police had an inescapable duty to maintain order but raised concerns about the use of rubber bullets. He said: “With so many children on the streets and the risk of serious injury from a direct hit or ricochet, their use in the current circumstances poses a serious risk.”
Other reports of intimidation against immigrants and minority ethnic families have also emerged.
The South Eastern Trust said four masked men chased a nurse on her way to work. “We fully condemn this racist attack. This nurse bravely insisted on staying in hospital to care for the most vulnerable people in our society. Her actions are in stark contrast to the behavior of people who intimidate her as she tries to do her job.”
Lists allegedly containing the names and addresses of foreigners were circulated on social media. At least one property management company contacted listed tenants and advised them to keep the homes safe and secure, the Irish News reported.
The case of Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man accused of attempting to murder Stephen Ogilvie on Monday night, continued to spark political controversy.
Alodid, who traveled from Sudan to Paris and then Dublin before boarding a bus to Belfast in 2023, was granted asylum without any interviews under the fast-track application scheme and given permission to stay in the UK for five years until 2028.
Benn said the previous Conservative government had introduced the system and asylum seekers were now interviewed in “almost all cases”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told LBC Radio: “I wasn’t the leader at the time, nor was I in the Home Office. All I can do is apologize to people.”
He said the then home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, had since defected to Reform England.
