For the second night in a row, the Northern Irish town of Ballymena faced chaos as masked rioters clashed with police, setting cars and homes on fire, following an alleged sexual assault.
The unrest followed a protest against two teenage boys who appeared in court on June 9 charged with the alleged attempted rape of a local teenage girl. The pair requested a Romanian interpreter, according to local media.
Seventeen officers were injured in the night’s violence on June 10, raising the total number of police casualties to 32 since the disorder erupted.
A heavy police presence attempted to control the situation as rioters erected barricades and torched vehicles, threw petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson, responsible for Local Policing Command with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, condemned the attacks. “This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police,” he said.
The Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Jackson Minford, voiced concern for the town’s large migrant workforce: “Many people from migrant backgrounds contribute significantly to Ballymena.”
Authorities were actively working to identify and prosecute those responsible for the violence.
On June 11, the police said they had arrested five people on suspicion of riotous behaviour following a second night of disorder.
In August last year, Northern Ireland experienced unrest sparked by the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport, in northwest England.
