UK knife attack victim’s family urges calm after unrest
The family of a man who lost an eye in a knife attack have appealed for calm after the incident triggered a wave of anti-immigrant violence in Belfast, with masked men burning families out of their homes and setting cars on fire.
The appeal comes as a Sudanese man appeared in court charged with attempted murder and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and politicians in Northern Ireland condemned violence by “masked thugs” targeting ethnic minorities.
Hundreds of protesters, many with their faces covered, attacked police and burned vehicles in various parts of Northern Ireland late Tuesday after a video of the knife attack went viral.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that the overnight unrest is not welcome and peaceful protest is the only way forward,” the victim’s family, Stephen Ogilvie, said in a statement. he said.
“We have many immigrants who have made invaluable contributions to our country… We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or incite hostility,” the statement said.
Speaking in Parliament, Starmer said the attack raised serious questions but “driving people out of their homes is not the right way to respond”, adding that anyone involved in the violence would face “the full force of the law”.
The suspect of the attack in north Belfast, a 30-year-old Sudanese named Hadi Alodid, was arrested by the court and sent to prison.
Alodid was charged with attempted murder of Ogilvie, threatening to kill a radiographer and possession of a knife.
Appearing in court via video link, Alodid did not respond to the accusations made against him through an Arabic translator.
The court heard that while Alodid was being treated for a hand injury in hospital, he said: “I killed someone, I don’t know if he’s dead” and told medical staff: “I’m going to kill you.”
The court heard Ogilvie, who is in his 40s, suffered serious injuries to his face and back.
It was understood that his condition was serious and he was in a coma at the hospital in Belfast.
Videos of the attack circulated online all day Tuesday, prompting calls for violent protests on social media.
Police had to help a family escape from a burning house.
Several cars and a bus were set on fire and turned into bullets.
Local resident Jamie Corry, 33, said he could only watch as his home went up in flames.
“I was actually standing there watching my entire house slowly but surely going up,” he told Reuters.
“I told them when they set a car on fire, it’s my property, it’s my property… and they still didn’t care.”
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the violence committed by the masked men as “nothing short of disgusting cowardice”.
The attack, which is not currently being treated as terrorism, comes amid rising tensions in the UK following the murder of a student who was handcuffed by police as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer, who was Sikh, falsely claimed a racist attack.
It also comes after repeated protests over immigration, with populist parties saying Britain’s asylum policy was allowing dangerous men into the country.
Amid online calls for more protests on Wednesday, Northern Ireland’s police chief said 200 extra officers had been deployed to the streets.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “These idiots targeted not only ethnic minority groups, but the community as well.”
Alodid entered Northern Ireland across the Irish border, flying from Paris to Dublin in February 2023.
He claimed asylum on arrival and in September 2023 was granted permission to remain in the UK until 2028.
Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson said the “open porous border” with Ireland should be closed after a “medieval” knife attack.
However, Northern Ireland Minister Hilary Benn said there was “strong cooperation between the UK authorities and the Irish authorities on tackling illegal immigration throughout the Common Travel Area, but it is not to say that the problem is in the Common Travel Area”.
with PA
