As anti-immigrant protests escalated, chaos descended on the Northern Irish capital Belfast on Monday and Tuesday evening. There was mob violence on the streets along with burning trashcans and thick plumes of smoke. The riots spread across entire neighborhoods, and a massive police deployment attempted to keep the riots under control.
Claire Hanna, the leader of the Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland, described the anti-immigrant violence as a "race-based pogrom" on the BBC's Newsnight program.
"Children in my constituency, and in others, were lifted out of their beds as their homes burned," she told the UK Parliament on Wednesday. "Masked men roamed the streets, going from door to door, menacing and setting fire to cars, buses and homes, terrorizing people on the basis of the color of their skin or the sound of their voice."
On Wednesday, security forces prevented a repeat of the violence in Belfast. But marches and riots broke out in other cities across the United Kingdom. According to media reports, people were specifically targeted and attacked because of the color of their skin.
The unrest was ostensibly sparked by a video of a knife attack that went viral on social media. The video shows a man repeatedly stabbing another who is lying on the ground. The victim was taken to hospital, where he remains with serious wounds. The perpetrator was arrested at the scene and has been charged with attempted murder.
