Belfast victim’s family calls for calm after anti-immigrant violence
Key takeaways
- Hundreds of protesters, many with their faces covered, had attacked police and burned vehicles in a number of locations across Northern Ireland late on Tuesday after a video of the knife attack went viral.
- “We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward,” the family of the victim, Stephen Ogilvie, said in a statement.
- “We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country… We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility,” it said.
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Add ARY News on Google AAResize BELFAST: The family of a man who lost an eye in a knife attack appealed for calm on Wednesday after the incident triggered a wave of anti-immigrant violence in Belfast overnight, with masked men burning families out of their homes and torching vehicles.
The appeal came as a Sudanese man appeared in court charged with attempted murder and as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and politicians in Northern Ireland condemned the violence by “masked thugs” that had targeted ethnic minorities.
Hundreds of protesters, many with their faces covered, had attacked police and burned vehicles in a number of locations across Northern Ireland late on Tuesday after a video of the knife attack went viral.