Buildings, vehicles and others were set ablaze following a wave of anti-immigrant riots which broke out across several parts of Northern Ireland after a brutal knife attack that left a man seriously injured.

The riots erupted hours after a 30-year-old Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid, was arrested for stabbing Stephen Ogilvie on Kinnaird Avenue, and tried to behead him in a street on Monday.

Passers-by dragged him off his victim and one of them had to hit him with a baton to let of the guy soaked in a pool of blood due to the kinfe attack. 

Videos of the unrest circulating online on Wednesday showed several masked protesters gathered at several locations across the city, setting fire to a bus and several cars.

Police helicopters flew overhead as officers were seen responding to the violence across the city. Crowds also gathered in Antrim, about 25 kilometres west of Belfast.

The first minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, condemned the protests and called for calm.

In a statement on X, she wrote, “Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur. There can be no excuse and no justification for these attacks tonight. No one wants to see this on our streets and I again appeal for calm.”

Also, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Keir Stammer, described the protests as shocking and completely acceptable.

“There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities, nor for those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere,” Mr Stammer stated.

The prime minister added that some were targeted during the violence because of their background, vowing that those responsible would feel the full force of the law.

The supect, Mr Alodid, was charged with attempted murder on Tuesday and scheduled for court appearance on Wednesday.

Mr Alodid, who arrived in the UK in 2023 via Paris and Dublin, Ireland, possesses a residence permit valid until 2028.