Police in Belfast last night stepped up patrols around hospitals after roving groups of masked thugs targeted foreign-born healthcare workers.
Water cannons were deployed on Wednesday night as groups targeted police with petrol bombs and other debris, while many immigrant families fled the city for their safety.
A total of 12 police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made following that night’s unrest. In one incident, a man set himself on fire as he attempted to throw a petrol bomb at police.
More arrests are expected in the coming days, with the PSNI also releasing images of people of interest.
The ongoing mayhem on the streets of Belfast has also sparked political debate regarding the Irish border and the open travel between the two jurisdictions.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin is to discuss the matter with his British counterpart Keir Starmer in the coming days.
Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn said the Irish Government had ‘questions to answer’ as the suspect in the horrific stabbing of a man in the city on Monday night, which sparked the riots, entered the North via Dublin.
Hadi Alodid, 30, from Sudan, appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with attempted murder over the knife attack, which has now generated international headlines.
The PSNI said there had been many reported incidents of immigrants being targeted in the city following the alleged attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie on Monday.
Many immigrant families have since fled Belfast with videos shared online showed young families packing their belongings into their cars as they prepared to find safety, with homes and cars torched by mobs.
The Mail has reported how a hit list of addresses had been shared online pinpointing homes of immigrants. In one harrowing incident on Wednesday evening, a nurse was chased into the hospital where she worked by a group of masked men. Despite her ordeal, the woman carried out her shift.
‘Yesterday evening, a nurse with a different skin colour was chased into the Ulster Hospital by four masked men,’ Patricia McKeown, the regional secretary for union Unison said. ‘This is happening to anyone, whether they be nurses or social care workers or working in factories, or living with families across Northern Ireland.
‘Everyone has been targeted who has a different skin colour or who comes from overseas, and there is no excuse for any of this. This is racism pure and simple.’
Ms McKeown said alternative accommodation has since been found for the nurse. The North’s health executive commended the nurse for ‘bravely’ insisting on remaining at the hospital and condemned the ‘racist attack’.
‘The South Eastern Trust is horrified that a nurse on her way to work last night was chased and intimidated,’ it said. ‘We utterly condemn this racist attack. This nurse bravely insisted on remaining in the Ulster Hospital to care for the most vulnerable in our community.
‘Her behaviour is in stark contrast to the behaviour of the people who terrified her as she tried to do her job. The Trust values and champions diversity and inclusion.
‘All staff working in health and social care across Northern Ireland are trying to care for everyone’s families in incredibly difficult circumstances. We would like to thank them for their continued dedication.’
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson also condemned the intimidation. He said: ‘I want to turn to the disgraceful threats and intimidation directed to our nurses, doctors, carers, and healthcare staff, men and women who work every day to save lives and care for our sick relatives. They are the backbone of our public service.
‘They are caring for our families, our friends and our loved ones. We are here to support them in the same way they support us. Tonight, we will be increasing our patrols of key areas. I have been talking to colleagues within health trusts and others to hear their concerns about their staff welfare.’
He added: ‘The streets of Northern Ireland need to return to calm and order. Our children need to feel safe returning to their schools. Businesses need to feel they could open their doors. Everyone with influence needs to do all in their power to get the thugs off our streets.’
The UK’s health secretary James Murray added that it was ‘absolutely horrific’ and ‘beyond unacceptable’.
‘I’m so sorry to hear that that’s happened in our country,’ he said. ‘We need to make sure that NHS staff are protected and they can continue to do the fantastic work they do day in, day out.
‘I think the nurse in that case, I heard, carried on and went to work, even despite what happened. For me that shows that alongside some of the worst of our country – in the way that they were intimidated – some of the best of our country – in that that nurse went to work and continued to serve people through the NHS.’
The Police Federation of Northern Ireland (PFNI), which represents rank-and-file officers, said the chaos was caused by ‘violent, fascist law-breakers who want to wreck Northern Ireland’.
‘Lives are being turned upside down by masked cowards and it’s time this violence stopped,’ Liam Kelly, chairman of the federation, said. ‘They are bullies who hide behind anonymous social media threats to businesses and people who come here to work in our health service and industries.’
Meanwhile, the condition of Mr Ogilvie is ‘improving’ and he is expected to come out of an induced coma in the next 48 hours, according to DUP leader Gavin Robinson.
Mr Robinson said he met with the victim’s parents yesterday afternoon and that the family were ‘broken’.
‘They have spoken very powerfully, in my view, that their desire is that what happened to their son on Monday evening is not used as an excuse for intimidation or division within our society,’ Mr Robinson said at Stormont.
He added: ‘They are grateful for support, but they particularly are calling for an end to the misinformation, the falsehoods and the lies that are only making a very difficult situation all the worse.’
