Why has Belfast erupted in anti-immigrant violence after a knife attack?

Anti-immigration protests have broken out in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after a knife attack allegedly perpetrated by a Sudanese refugee left the country on edge.

Hundreds of protesters, many masked, blocked roads and torched cars and buildings on Tuesday evening as residents were evacuated.

Michelle O’Neill, the first minister of Northern Ireland, described the riots as “nothing less than disgusting cowardice”. “Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur,” she said on X.

The 30-year-old suspect in the knife attack, whose name has not been released, was charged with attempted murder, possession of a bladed weapon in a public place and making threats to kill after he repeatedly slashed a man in his 40s in the head and neck on Monday.

Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher said the suspect had arrived in the United Kingdom in 2023 via Paris and Dublin. The UK Home Office confirmed he was a Sudanese refugee with a legal residence permit valid until 2028.

The latest bout of violence comes as tensions remain high across Britain, with populist parties accusing the asylum policy of allowing dangerous men into the country.

Violent skirmishes broke out last week in Southampton, southern England, over the police handling of the murder of a young white student stabbed to death by a British Sikh man. On Tuesday, dozens of demonstrators also gathered there outside a hotel housing asylum seekers, carrying banners reading “no racism, just patriotism” and “enough is enough”.

Immigration has become a hot-button issue in Britain, and helped stoke the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party in recent municipal polls.