Anti-immigrant riots struck Belfast for a second consecutive night on Wednesday, 10 June 2026, after a 30-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker was charged with attempted murder following a knife attack that left a local man blind in one eye.
Police in Northern Ireland deployed water cannons to disperse protesters gathered across the city after Hadi Alodid, a Sudanese national, appeared in Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesdday and was remanded in custody on a charge of attempted murder.
As reported by Al Jazeera, the second night of unrest was markedly less violent than the first, though officers still faced projectiles thrown by masked crowds.
What sparked the Belfast anti-immigrant riots
The trouble began when footage of the original knife attack went viral on social media, inflaming anti-immigrant sentiment across Northern Ireland.
Alodid allegedly attacked Stephen Ogilvie with a kitchen knife in north Belfast on Monday, 8 June, leaving Ogilvie with severe injuries to his face, back and both eyes.
Ogilvie, a man in his 40s, survived the attack but has permanently lost his left eye, according to evidence presented in court.
Three people were arrested in connection with the rioting, with one individual charged with rioting and another facing additional charges of attempted criminal damage and assault.
How Belfast burned on the night the violence began
During the first night of unrest on Tuesday, 9 June, masked men set houses, a bus, vehicles and a supermarket alight across multiple neighbourhoods, including the Crumlin and Lower Newtownards Roads.
Several families were evacuated as protesters blocked roads and pelted riot officers with bricks and bottles.
The Belfast violence echoes a wave of anti-immigrant unrest that struck multiple UK cities in the summer of 2024, when far-right groups targeted mosques, hotels housing asylum seekers and ethnic minority businesses following a knife attack in Southport.
Northern Ireland did not experience significant disorder at that time, making the June 2026 violence all the more notable for the region.
Northern Ireland’s police chief confirmed that 200 additional officers were deployed in anticipation of a third night of disorder.
Police also warned of far-right activists circulating a list of home addresses allegedly belonging to immigrants, which the force described as “totally unacceptable.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the violence as “shocking and completely unacceptable,” while the family of Stephen Ogilvie issued a public statement urging calm.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward,” the family said.
What comes next for the Belfast riots
Alodid is expected to return to court as prosecutors advance the attempted murder case.
Authorities have indicated that more arrests are likely as police examine footage from both nights of disorder, and community leaders across Belfast are calling for restraint as the city assesses the damage to homes and businesses.
