'Masked Men Burning Families Out of Their Homes': Belfast Protests Erupt After Knife Attack

Protesters burned cars, smashed windows, and targeted businesses in Belfast as violence erupted after footage of a knife attack in the north of the city circulated online, stoking racial tensions.

The suspect in the stabbing, 30–year-old Sudanese national Hadi Alodid, appeared in court Wednesday. He’s been charged with attempted murder over the Monday night attack and has been remanded in custody for four weeks.

The victim Stephen Ogilvie, a man in his 40s, remains in hospital with serious injuries to his face, neck, and back. He has lost his left eye as a result of the assault, Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard.

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill condemned the “harrowing” knife attack, but said there can be “no excuse and no justification” for the disorder that unfolded on the streets Tuesday night.

“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” O’Neill said, describing scenes of protesters targeting houses in the east of the city.

“This has nothing to do with community,” she emphasized. “This is outright thuggery.”

Footage shared by the Irish Independent shows the emergency services evacuating people from burning homes on a residential street as sirens blare in the background.

While a bus was lit on fire in Belfast, a police car in the town of Portadown was set ablaze as sporadic pockets of disorder broke out into other parts of Northern Ireland. 

Smaller protests played out in England—where demonstrators rallied in London’s Parliament Square—and Scotland.

Scenes from the following morning were quiet by contrast, as many in Belfast and its surrounding areas awoke to burned-out cars and trashed streets.

Lawmakers and officials said ethnic minorities were targeted.

Claire Hanna, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, told Newsnight: “What you’re seeing is a race-based pogrom. We are seeing men going door to door asking to 'get the foreigners out,' based exclusively on the colour of their skin.”

Jack McKee, a Belfast pastor, told the BBC that some members of his church were being forced out of their homes “because they’re Black.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the "completely unacceptable" scenes and said it is "clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it."

Northern Ireland's Justice Minister Naomi Long criticized “commentators on the far-right who were clearly trying to stoke racial tensions” and implored for the violence to stop.

“There have been bad faith actors, both in the U.K. and further afield… who were deliberately encouraging people to take to the streets, deliberately weaponizing the pain and anguish of an injured man and a frightened community,” said Long.

“We recognize in Northern Ireland that immigration is a vexed issue, and there’s a conversation that we can have rationally and logically about that, but there are others who weaponize it to stir up racial tensions, to stir up division,” she continued.

Urging people to “step away from their keyboards,” Long referenced the politically-charged history of Northern Ireland and the danger of hostilities being stoked once more.

“We know the consequences when we demonize one section of our community… we have lived through that in recent memory, and do not need to revisit it again,” she said.

Long added that she had spoken with a young Sudanese woman who was “visibly shaken and crying because she was so fearful that people would hold an entire community responsible for the actions of an individual.”

The overnight unrest comes exactly a year after anti-immigration riots broke out following an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. 

That unrest lasted several days, but the Police Service of Northern Ireland has urged an immediate cessation of the current disorder and a return to calm.

The family of the victim of Monday night’s knife attack has also called for an end to the riots.

“We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward,” said Ogilvie’s relatives.

“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our health care system and hospitality sector and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”

Soon after the knife attack on Monday night, graphic footage of the incident started circulating online.

The videos showed bystanders pulling the attacker off the victim until police arrived and made an arrest at the scene.

Many, including Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, praised the intervening members of the public for showing “the very best of humanity.”

But another rhetoric also spread, with calls for violence and the stoking of tensions surrounding immigration.

Alodid, the suspected attacker and Sudanese national, entered the U.K. in 2023 and was given refugee status that same year.

He was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2028, the Home Office said.

Far-right figure Tommy Robinson, born Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was among those to hone in on the refugee status of the suspect.

In a series of online posts, he called for people in the U.K. to take to the streets.

“The whole of the United Kingdom is hitting the streets tonight at 7 p.m. following yet another invader attack on our people,” he said Tuesday afternoon, sharing a schedule of times and meet-up points for protesters.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk shared the post with his 240-million strong following.

“Only by protesting repeatedly and loudly will there be any change,” he said.

Lawmakers in Northern Ireland had urged for the footage not to be shared.

“The violence in north Belfast was horrific, the video will create fear and shock,” said Hanna. “No good will come of sharing it or of turning on each other in this society, including for the clout of online voices who don’t know or care about us and who offer absolutely nothing for the future.”

While Hanna didn’t name anyone specific, others called out Musk directly.

Labour Party Chair Anna Turley referred to the online rhetoric as “appalling” and said Musk is “not someone who has to live in a community where the consequences of the anger that is whipped up.”

High tension across the U.K. as divisions stoked

The protests in Belfast come days after violence erupted in Southampton, England, over the death of a student who was handcuffed by police after he had been stabbed.

Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced last week to a minimum of 21 years in prison for the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, who was killed in an attack in Southampton in December 2025.

Police footage of the incident released last week shows officers continuing to put Nowak in handcuffs despite his pleas that he was struggling to breathe and was injured. Digwa, a British Sikh, had told police he was a victim of a racist attack, an allegation that was later proved false.

Public anger over the killing and the police response spilled out into violent protests. Online discourse surrounding the bodycam footage further polarized debate around immigration and policing in Britain.

Starmer acknowledged there are “serious questions to answer, including how accusations of racism informed police thinking,” but emphasized there was “no justification for more violence and disorder.”

The case brought international attention and the discourse became politically-charged with commentary from high-profile figures including X owner Musk.

In one of several posts discussing the tragedy, Musk claimed “the West has created an utterly evil state religion” in which an accusation of racism “is the gravest offense that can be committed.”

Starmer criticized the commentary, accusing Musk of "interfering in our politics” and “trying to whip up division.” 

Further debate ensued when the U.S. State Department accused Britain of operating under a “two-tier policing” system—a claim staunchly rejected by Starmer and police chiefs.