BALLYMENA: Northern Irish police said Tuesday that 15 officers were injured in clashes after “racially motivated” attacks sparked by the arrest of two teenagers for attempted rape of a young girl.
The disorder in the town of Ballymena, some 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Belfast, broke out Monday night after a vigil in a neighbourhood where an alleged serious sexual assault happened on Saturday.
“This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police,“ Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said.
Two teenage boys, charged by police with the attempted rape of a teenage girl, had appeared in court earlier Monday, where they asked for a Romanian interpreter, local media reports said.
The trouble began when masked people “broke away from the vigil and began to build barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties,“ the police said.
Houses and businesses were attacked and three people had to be evacuated, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said, adding it was investigating “hate attacks”.
Security forces also came under “sustained attack”, police said, with petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks thrown by masked rioters, injuring 15 officers including some who required hospital treatment.
– Too scared to stay –
Four houses were damaged by fire, and windows and doors of homes and businesses smashed.
One 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of riotous and disorderly behaviour, attempted criminal damage and resisting police.
Although police did not specify the exact reason for the unrest, the local MP had previously said tensions had been growing in the town over immigration.
Footage on social media appeared to show protesters targeting houses by smashing windows and some masked individuals kicking in doors and windows and throwing items including cans of paint and glass bottles at police vehicles.
A Romanian mother of three who lived in one of the targeted houses told the PA news agency she was scared to stay in the area.
A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “the disorder we saw in Ballymena is very concerning.
“Obviously, the reports of sexual assault in the area are extremely distressing, but there is no justification for attacks on police officers while they continue to protect local communities,“ Downing Street added.
“We are actively working to identify those responsible and bring them to justice,“ said Assistant Chief Constable Henderson, adding a “significant policing presence” would remain in place.
Northern Ireland was hit by racism-fuelled disorder last August, sparked by anti-immigration riots in English towns and cities.
