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BELFAST — Northern Ireland is on fire again in what looks and feels like a modern twist on the U.K. territory’s “Troubles” of old.
In several parts of Belfast, police and firefighters struggled to contain mobs of anti-immigrant militants into the early hours of Wednesday as they targeted ethnic minority households, restaurants and shops. Police said dozens of homes were torched, along with many of the immigrants’ cars and at least one city bus, as authorities focused on getting threatened people to safety, not on confronting and arresting attackers.
In London, Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed that the hundreds of rioters, most of them teenagers and men in their 20s covering their faces, would be identified and charged in the coming weeks and months.
“It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it. Those responsible will feel the full force of the law,” he vowed.
