More than 90 individuals were arrested across multiple UK cities on Saturday following riots sparked by demonstrations against immigrants and Muslims, according to BBC reports.
Violence erupted in Liverpool, Bristol, Blackpool, and Belfast as protesters hurled bottles, looted shops, and attacked police officers. However, not all demonstrations turned violent.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to give police forces the government’s “full support” to act against “extremists” aiming to “sow hatred.”
The unrest, the most extensive in 13 years, followed the stabbing murder of three girls at a dance school in north-west England. False information on social media claimed the suspect was an extremist Muslim illegally in the country.
Police have identified the suspect, Axel Rundakubana, 17, as a British-born citizen. Despite this, protests against immigrants and Muslims escalated into violence.
Riots were reported in Liverpool, Bristol, Hull, and Belfast, with many police officers injured while trying to prevent clashes between opposing groups of demonstrators.
In Northern Ireland, hundreds gathered outside Belfast City Hall for an anti-racism rally on Saturday, organised in response to social media calls for anti-Islamic protests in the region.
Police vehicles formed a barrier between anti-racist protesters and a small anti-Islamic group on Saturday in Belfast, where tensions flared as the two sides exchanged insults and fireworks.
Police Land Rovers and riot officers were deployed to keep the groups apart, according to the Guardian. Officers arrested one man, who was escorted away in a Northern Ireland Police Service (PSNI) vehicle. Authorities reported that several roads leading to Belfast were closed “due to ongoing protest activity.”
Northern Ireland Minister Hilary Benn condemned the violence in Belfast, stating on social media platform X, “Hate has no place in our society. I commend the PSNI officers for all they did to keep people safe.”
The clashes come amid a wave of unrest in the UK, with widespread riots following anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim demonstrations in several cities. (in cyprus)
