On 10 June 2026, violent anti-immigrant riots broke out in the capital of Northern Ireland. Hundreds of masked people set fire to cars, buses and buildings after a Sudanese man was arrested in connection with a brutal knife attack.
The attack took place on Monday, 8 June, in north Belfast. 30-year-old Hadi Alodid stabbed a 40-year-old man, inflicting wounds to his face, eyes, neck and back. The victim lost one eye. The attacker was quickly subdued by passersby and then arrested.
On Tuesday evening, serious riots broke out in several districts of the city. Protesters set fire to, among other things, a bus, several cars and a building in the city centre. Molotov cocktails were also thrown. The unrest also spread to nearby towns, including Antrim.
Reactions from authorities
First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill strongly condemned the riots:
„Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is disgusting cowardice. Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong, regardless of the circumstances.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack „horrific and disgusting” and appealed for calm. The Northern Ireland police chief described the situation as a „critical incident”.
The victim’s family issued a statement stressing that they do not want the attack to be used to fuel hatred and division.
Background
Hadi Alodid had been in the United Kingdom on a five-year visa granted in September 2023. He travelled from Sudan via Paris and Dublin, where he applied for asylum in Belfast. He had no prior criminal record with the authorities.
The Belfast riots fit into a wider wave of anti-immigrant tensions in the United Kingdom, intensified by a series of brutal knife attacks in recent months.
The case remains developing.
