South Belfast attacks treated as hate crimes by police

Police are investigating hate crimes and have made two arrests after criminal damage was caused during disorder in south Belfast on Saturday.

It comes after anti-immigration and anti-racism protesters faced off in tense scenes outside the city hall.

The crowds shouted chants at each other while police in riot gear were deployed.

A café on Botanic Avenue was later attacked by a crowd of anti-immigration protesters as they made their way to the Holylands area of south Belfast.

Protesters threw missiles at members of the media.

A police message warned the crowd to disperse as “force is about to be used”.

The police said on Saturday evening they “continue to deal with protest activity and sporadic disorder in the south Belfast area and are aware of a number of reports of criminal damage which we are currently treating as hate crimes”.

Windows were smashed and furniture was broken in the cafe on Botanic Avenue.

The owner told BBC News NI that he has “no words”.

Rahmi, who has been in Belfast for 35 years, said he did not “know how to explain” what happened to his children.

He said he was not “blaming anybody” but said there “was no safety at all” and felt there could have been more of a police presence when “the parade was walking” through the area.

He added that it was “terrible” that his business had been attacked for “no reason”.

Secretary of State Hilary Benn said in a post on X: “Shame on those involved in violent disorder in Belfast today.

“Hatred has no place in our society. I commend the officers of the PSNI for everything they have done to keep people safe.”

Sinn Fein MLA for Belfast South, Deidre Hargey said the PSNI were “warned” about the demonstrations.

“I warned them about this yesterday in terms of the university area were we have a lot of accommodation for refugee and asylum seekers,” Ms Harvey told RTÉ.

“We had said there needed to be an operation in place to ensure that all of this was managed,” she added.

Karl Duncan, from Londonderry, was in the city centre earlier and saw a firework being thrown by the protesters.

He said it “fell right next to me” and a woman and “went off” and “hurt her” before “she fell to the ground”.

He said the woman fell to the ground “pretty hard”.

“We have to send a message and say that the anti-immigrant protesters don’t represent this place,” he said.

A large police cordon was in place in all roads around the city’s Islamic centre.

On Friday, Church leaders in Northern Ireland had said they were “appalled” by calls for “anti-Islamic” protests this weekend.

A number of social media posts had been shared asking for people to gather and block roads in the greater Belfast area and elsewhere.

The police had said they are aware of the social media posts and were planning a “proportionate policing response”.