Anti-Immigrant Riots Engulf Belfast After a Stabbing Attack

Belfast experienced a night of violence after a stabbing attack, with cars and a bus set on fire and families driven from their homes as the unrest spread through the streets, The New York Times reported. The disorder followed the arrest of a man in connection with the knife attack.

Protesters set buildings and vehicles on fire and blocked roads, Deutsche Welle reported, identifying the suspect as a Sudanese refugee who was due to appear in court in Northern Ireland. The German outlet described the disturbances as anti-immigrant riots.

Israeli outlet Ynet described masked crowds breaking doors and windows of migrants' homes, removing families and setting their apartments on fire, and reported chants of "foreigners out," in its account of the night. The three reports agree on the core sequence: a violent crime, an arrest, and widespread disorder targeting immigrant communities.

The episode adds to a pattern of immigration-linked unrest in parts of Europe and the United Kingdom, where individual crimes have repeatedly triggered broader confrontations. The political reaction, and the policing response to the violence, will shape whether the disorder spreads.