12 officers injured in second night of unrest in Northern Ireland
German Press Agency
LONDON – Twelve police officers were injured, and 16 arrests were made in the second night of unrest in Northern Ireland following the Belfast knife attack, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said.
Benn, who represents Northern Ireland in the U.K. Cabinet, said he was “glad to say that last night there was less disorder than we witnessed on Tuesday night,” as he condemned the “racist thuggery” seen in the wake of Monday’s stabbing assault that left the victim in the hospital.
Police used water cannons on rioters as officers were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs by balaclava-clad rioters in County Antrim on Wednesday evening.
A Department for Infrastructure vehicle was left in flames as rioters confronted police near the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey to the north-west of Belfast.
Footage showed dozens of men dressed all in black and wearing face coverings gathering on Antrim Road, where they could be seen tearing bricks from properties and smashing paving stones with sledgehammers to create projectiles to throw at police.
Rioters attempted to set fire to a derelict property near a petrol station in Newtownabbey, with some throwing petrol bombs at police lines.
They could also be seen taking wheelie bins from outside homes and lighting fires in them.
In Londonderry, police reported items having been set alight on the Ardmore Road.
The family of the victim Stephen Ogilvie said they were “disgusted” by the disorder.
Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack in which Ogilvie lost an eye.
The reaction to the incident saw mobs set homes, a bus and cars on fire in Belfast on Tuesday, with people targeted based on their race.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) appealed for assistance in identifying individuals in images connected to Tuesday night’s disorder.
The force also urged those in the pictures to come forward to police.