Belfast sees violent riots after stabbing as victim’s family appeals for calm – National
Northern Ireland authorities and the family of Stephen Ogilvie, the victim of an alleged attack on a Sudanese man in Belfast earlier this week, urged protesters to refrain from further violence after the incident sparked a wave of anti-immigrant unrest in parts of the city.
“We want to make it clear that night riots are unacceptable, and peaceful protest is the only way forward,” the victim’s family said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
“We have many immigrants who make a very important contribution to our country, including in our health system and the hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work,” it continued.
Ogilvie, a man in his 40s, is in hospital after losing his left eye and suffering serious injuries to his face and back during the attack on Kinnaird Avenue in north Belfast on Monday, according to UK media reports.
Masked youths block a street lined with burning debris in north Belfast, Northern Ireland, on the night of June 9, 2026. Police in Northern Ireland appealed for calm on Tuesday after a stabbing in Belfast, allegedly by a Sudanese man, and captured on graphic video, sparked anti-immigration protests away from UK figures.
Paul Faith / AFP via Getty Images
Photos of this incident have spread on social media despite the police urging the public not to watch or share them.
Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old suspect, has been granted permission to stay in the UK after entering Ireland, The Guardian reports. He appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, where he was charged with attempted murder and possession of a knife.
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The incident fueled crowds of anti-immigration protesters who poured into the streets of Northern Ireland’s capital on Tuesday night, where they torched homes, buses, cars and other buildings, forcing residents, including children, to flee.
Those actions have been widely criticized by political leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who, in a statement to X, described the violence as “appalling and totally unacceptable.”
Flames and thick black smoke rise from a burning bus during riots on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, June 9, 2026.
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“It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it. Those involved will face the full force of the law,” Starmer continued.
Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, said gangs causing violence and vandalism were showing “disgusting cowardice” by “burning families out of their homes.”
“It’s a crime, plain and simple,” he said, adding that the attack on Ogilvie was “vicious” and “wrong” but was being used by “dangerous and reckless” people to target innocent people who had nothing to do with his stabbing.
“Racism is wrong, intimidation is wrong, and violence is wrong,” he continued.
Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Jon Boutcher, he said at a press conference on Wednesday that the act of violence on the streets of Northern Ireland was “an act of self-harm.”
“This disruption is an insult to the victim of this beating, an insult to the members of the public who bravely came out to save his life and the police who rushed to the scene,” he added, before asking people to stop it.
“I urge those who are involved or thinking of getting involved in intelligence to stop thinking. Ask yourself if this hatred is something you want to be associated with? Should you be persecuted and possibly lose your future or the future of your children?
“I ask for peace in the coming days and again, I urge anyone who thinks of getting involved in violence and mayhem to think long and hard about the consequences for themselves and their community.”
“This must stop. We will not have a society that allows this to happen,” he concluded.
A number of families, including a parent who was carrying a two-month-old child, left their homes when the chaos escalated, police said on Wednesday, and a number of police officers were injured while responding to the disturbance.
“Three people have been arrested so far in Belfast and Newtownabbey, with more to come,” said Butcher.
People stand next to burnt-out cars and houses after protests turned violent last night in east Belfast, Northern Ireland, June 10, 2026. A Sudanese man was due to appear in court in Northern Ireland on June 10 over a brutal knife attack filmed on video that sparked a night of violence by anti-immigration protesters.
Paul Faith / AFP via Getty Images
The attack, which is currently not being treated as terrorism, took place at a time of heightened tension in Britain following the killing of a handcuffed student by police who died of stab wounds after his killer, a Sikh man, lied about a racial attack.
It also follows repeated protests over immigration, with opposition groups saying Britain’s asylum policy has allowed dangerous men into the country.
Technology billionaire Elon Musk has also sent several messages criticizing the situation in the United Kingdom following the Belfast incident.
– via files from Reuters
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