Race riots are taking place in the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. Tuesday was the second straight day of violence. Hundreds of masked rioters faced off against the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The police are trying to curb attacks against ethnic minorities living in Ballymena, which is about 40 kilometres north of the capital, Belfast. The rioters assaulted the police with bricks, bottles and petrol bombs. They also set cars and makeshift barricades on fire. Minority communities in Ballymena are terrified, and some are preparing to flee.
The riots were sparked by a sexual assault that took place on Saturday night. The victim was a teenage girl. The accused are two 14-year-old boys. They required the services of a Romanian interpreter while they were being charged in court on Monday. Later that day, a vigil was held in solidarity with the victim of the assault. But some masked people in the crowd broke away and began vandalising houses and businesses linked to immigrants.
Violence broke out again on Tuesday evening. The rioters are purportedly locals who are upset over what they consider excess immigration. The Mid and East Antrim council area, which includes the town of Ballymena, has seen about 4,900 foreign migrants move in between 2001 and 2022. There have been a spate of racially motivated hate crimes in Northern Ireland in recent months.
On Monday, the day the riots broke out, a petrol bomb was thrown at a Filipino immigrant’s house. He lives more than 6 kilometres away from where the riots were taking place. Houses with migrant families are reportedly being identified. Incidents are breaking out in other parts of Northern Ireland as well.
