Crowd hurl fireworks and other missiles at officers during protests after alleged sexual assault on a young girl
Irish police have battled hundreds of protesters outside a Dublin hotel used to house asylum seekers after an alleged sexual assault on a young girl.
The crowd burned a police vehicle and hurled fireworks and other missiles at officers outside the Citywest hotel on Tuesday night.
RTÉ reported that the protesters – some of whom waved Irish flags and held anti-immigrant placards – numbered up to 2,000 people.
The disturbances flared a day after a man was charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault. Local media reported that he was a 26-year-old asylum seeker and that the alleged victim was a 10-year-old who was attacked at or near the Citywest facility, which is in the Saggart area of south-west Dublin.
