Massive opposition to far-right and loyalist looting in Northern Ireland

Earlier this month, fascist, loyalist and anti-immigration activists went on a rampage in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

On 3 August, thugs smashed hotel and pub windows and other properties in the Botanics area of ​​Belfast and threw fireworks at protesters. Masked men threw chairs through windows and attacked immigrant-owned businesses. As the far-right thugs appeared to be heading towards the Islamic Centre, around 100 residents lined the streets in the Holyland area, holding back the protests, while the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) were initially nowhere to be seen.

That same evening, a Syrian-owned supermarket in the Sandy Row area was destroyed after being set on fire and an immigrant cafe was burnt down. Cars were burned and missiles, including Molotov cocktails and pieces of brickwork, were thrown at police, injuring three officers. Four people were arrested in connection with the violence. Rioting and attacks on other immigrant-owned businesses took place in other parts of the city, including Donegall Road and University Street.

Elsewhere, the M5 motorway was closed due to protests in Newtownabbey. Protests also took place in Bangor and Carrickfergus.

On 5 August, there was further violence in the Sandy Row area, where businesses were targeted for a second time and armoured PSNI Land Rovers were attacked with Molotov cocktails and stones. Police fired two plastic bullets in response. A man in his 50s was seriously injured in a racially motivated attack, which is being treated as a hate crime. Witnesses reported seeing attackers stamp on the man’s head as members of the public tried to protect him.

Police said there was loyalist paramilitary involvement in the violence. Loyalist paramilitary groups are rife with police informers. Sandy Row remains a stronghold of the Ulster Defence Association. At a press conference on 6 August, acting Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said evasively that she had “no doubt that there is a paramilitary element to it, but I am not in a position to say that they are the main organiser or orchestrator of these events.”

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That same day, masked men rammed a hijacked car into an estate agent’s office in Belfast’s Shankill Road area, falsely claiming the agency rented homes to asylum seekers. Masked men are also said to have kicked in doors and attacked immigrant homes and cars in the Woodvale area.

Further unrest followed on 10 August when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a mosque in the town of Newtownards and cars were set alight in Belfast. One man was arrested in connection with the Newtownards attack.