A stabbing attack that left a victim seriously injured sparked anti-immigrant violence in several parts of Northern Ireland, while the 30-year-old Sudanese suspect was set to appear in a Belfast court Wednesday on an attempted murder charge.
Masked men set several homes they believed to house immigrants on fire, burned trash bins and a Belfast bus and pelted police with objects Tuesday night. Firefighters rescued several people from burning homes.
Anselme Shima, a Belfast resident originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said he saw smoke from burning vehicles near his home.
"I've lived on my street for almost 10 years, I have a good relationship with my neighbors, but last night was a horrific one," he said. "We don't know what to do. I'm scared. Seeing this, I'm wondering if I'm next."
Politicians from both parts of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government condemned the violence. First Minister Michelle O'Neill of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein said it was "thuggery."
