Protests escalate - vehicles set on fire

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• A shocking act of bloodshed has stoked fears of racist riots in the UK.
• Videos on social media show an attacker sitting on a man covered in blood and attacking him with a knife.
• The alleged perpetrator is from Sudan and has been arrested.
• Several vehicles, including a bus, have been set on fire in the Northern Irish capital Belfast.

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Update from 10.15 p.m.: A bloody knife attack in the Northern Irish capital Belfast that left one person seriously injured has reignited fears of racist riots in the United Kingdom.

According to the Northern Ireland police, a man aged between 30 and 40 was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The victim, a man aged between 40 and 50, was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his face, eyes and back, according to the statement. The incident took place on Monday evening.

The alleged perpetrator is said to be from Sudan - which has raised fears that the incident could be used as an opportunity for racially motivated riots. Britain's best-known right-wing extremist Tommy Robinson has already issued calls for protests across the country.

Police search the area around the crime scene in a residential area of north Belfast.

Image: Keystone/AP Photo/Peter Morrison

Police ask not to share bloody video

In a video circulating on the internet, an attacker can be seen sitting on a man covered in blood in the middle of a street and maltreating him with a knife. In between, he raises the knife in the air and shouts something. After a while, several men venture nearby and try to separate the attacker from his victim.

The police asked that the video not be distributed. Northern Ireland's Chief Constable Jon Boutcher called on people not to be incited by social media and to let the investigators do their work. According to the police statement, there is no evidence of a terrorist background so far.

Vehicles on fire in Belfast

Several vehicles, including a bus, have been set on fire in the course of protests in the Northern Irish capital Belfast. Several hundred people had reportedly gathered in the city to demonstrate against immigration. As seen in aerial footage on Sky News, black smoke rose in several parts of the city. According to the BBC, protests also took place in other cities in Northern Ireland.

There was also a protest rally in Southampton in southern England outside a hotel where asylum seekers were being housed. Far-right activists, including the well-known right-wing radical Tommy Robinson, had called for the demonstrations in several cities. US billionaire Elon Musk encouraged the protesters on the online service X to take to the streets "repeatedly and loudly".

Warning of riots

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the act in the strongest possible terms. "The horrific attack in Belfast is sickening. I have absolutely no tolerance for appalling scenes of violence like this on our streets," Starmer said on the X platform. Northern Irish politicians expressed similar sentiments and warned of riots. Great Britain was rocked by violent racially motivated riots in the summer of 2024.

18 cities affected

Violence escalates in England - what has happened and is known so far

Just last week, there were riots on the fringes of a protest in the southern English city of Southampton. This was triggered by the publication of body cam footage showing a blatant police blunder following the fatal knife attack on student Henry Nowak by a man from the Sikh community. Instead of arresting the killer, who presented himself as the victim of a racist attack, the police had handcuffed the dying Nowak.