{"id":494199,"date":"2026-06-11T11:50:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/494199\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T11:50:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:50:22","slug":"belfast-latest-twelve-police-officers-injured-and-16-arrests-made-during-second-night-of-unrest-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/494199\/","title":{"rendered":"Belfast latest: Twelve police officers injured and 16 arrests made during second night of unrest \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Main PointsKey Reads<\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 2 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Man and woman aged in 20s charged following Wednesday night unrest<\/p>\n

Following disorder in Portadown, Co Armagh on Wednesday night, a 28-year old-man has been charged with failing to remove a disguise when requested, obstructing police and resisting police, ths PSNI has said.<\/p>\n

A 24-year-old woman has also been charged with disorderly behaviour and possession of an article with intent to do damage. <\/p>\n

Both are due to appear at Lisburn Magistrates court on Thursday. <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 18 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Police federation says \u2018violent fascist law-breakers\u2019 want to wreck Northern Ireland <\/p>\n

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland says twelve officers injured during disturbances last night is down to \u201cviolent fascist law-breakers\u201d who want to wreck Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Thursday, PFNI Chair Liam Kelly said it is intolerable that \u201cour colleagues are bearing the brunt of street disorder\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are doing their level best to curtail, frustrate and arrest rioters,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy thoughts are with the twelve officers who sustained injuries and who were confronted by thugs throwing bricks, masonry and petrol-bombs and used lasers directed at our frontline.<\/p>\n

\u201cSixteen arrests have been made so far and police efforts will continue at pace to bring scores of others before the courts. My hope is they will be handed maximum sentences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly added that general disorder and the forced re-location of innocent families should \u201cleave us shamed and angry\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cViolent racist and fascist lawbreakers offer nothing but hopelessness and mindless thuggery,\u201d he added<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve getting 200 additional officers under Mutual Aid and they will provide some much-needed relief for my colleagues. However, we are 700 officers below where we should be and some 1,200 short of the 7,500 that was promised.<\/p>\n

\u201cLives are being turned upside down by masked cowards and it\u2019s time this violence stopped. They are bullies who hide behind anonymous social media threats to businesses and people who come here to work in our Health Service and industries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he was \u201cglad to say that last night there was less disorder than we witnessed on Tuesday night\u201d, as he condemned the \u201cracist thuggery\u201d seen in the wake of Monday\u2019s stabbing that left the victim in hospital.<\/p>\n

Twelve police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made in the second night of unrest in Northern Ireland following the Belfast knife attack. <\/p>\n

Police used water cannons on rioters, as officers were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs by balaclava-clad rioters in Co Antrim on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n

A Department for Infrastructure vehicle was left in flames as rioters confronted police near the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey to the northwest of Belfast.<\/p>\n

Footage showed dozens of men dressed all in black and wearing face coverings gathering on Antrim Road, where they could be seen tearing bricks from properties and smashing paving stones with sledgehammers to create projectiles to throw at police.<\/p>\n

Rioters attempted to set fire to a derelict property near a petrol station in Newtownabbey, with some throwing petrol bombs at police lines.<\/p>\n

They could also be seen taking wheelie bins from outside homes and lighting fires in them.<\/p>\n

In Derry, police reported items having been set alight on the Ardmore Road.<\/p>\n

The family of the victim Stephen Ogilvie said they were \u201cdisgusted\u201d by the disorder.<\/p>\n

In response to a second night of disorder, Benn told LBC Radio: \u201cThugs burning people out of their homes because of the colour of their skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not what Northern Ireland is about.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cMost importantly, the family of Stephen Ogilvie, who was so brutally attacked on Monday night, have said that they don\u2019t want to see this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hadi Alodid (30) appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with attempted murder over Monday\u2019s knife attack in which Ogilvie lost an eye.<\/p>\n

The reaction to the incident saw mobs set homes, a bus and cars on fire in Belfast on Tuesday, with people targeted based on their race.<\/p>\n

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) appealed for assistance in identifying individuals in images connected to Tuesday night\u2019s disorder.<\/p>\n

The force also urged those in the pictures to come forward to police.<\/p>\n

Benn told Times Radio the fast-track asylum scheme is no longer in operation, and asylum seekers are now \u201cproperly processed\u201d in order for a decision to be made on whether they should be granted asylum.<\/p>\n

A trade union secretary told the BBC\u2019s Good Morning Ulster programme she believes paramilitary groups were \u201cundoubtedly\u201d involved in the Belfast unrest.<\/p>\n

Patricia McKeown, a regional secretary for Unison, said many workers across the region had received threats since Monday\u2019s knife attack.<\/p>\n

She told the broadcaster: \u201cYesterday evening a nurse with a different skin colour was chased into the Ulster Hospital by four masked men.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKeown said the nurse still insisted on working her shift, and alternative accommodation has since been found for her.<\/p>\n

Leader of the DUP Gavin Robinson told the programme he believed there was \u201cless\u201d violence on Wednesday night than the previous evening.<\/p>\n

Robinson said he was against people \u201cabusing our hospitality\u201d and more needed to be done in \u201cprotecting\u201d borders into the UK.<\/p>\n

The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox urged people not to \u201ccreate chaos\u201d as she condemned the racist and violent scenes in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

Kim Leadbeater, a British MP, said she understood anger at Monday\u2019s knife attack but appealed for people not to \u201criot and cause more trouble and more problems\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AA house in the Sandyknowles area of Newtownabbey burnt out in the second night of unrest in Belfast. Photograph: PA Wire \"AA house in the Sandyknowles area of Newtownabbey burnt out in the second night of unrest in Belfast. Photograph: PA Wire <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n

\"DebrisDebris on the road after a night of violent disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, on Thursday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA \"AA burned-out house after a night of violent disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland on Thursday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA \"AA damaged van after a night of violent disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, on Thursday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA \"AA burned-out vehicle after a night of violent disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, on Thursday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA \"DebrisDebris on the road after a night of violent disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, on Thursday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA \"AA burned-out vehicle after a night of violent disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, on Thursday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA \"DebrisDebris on the street after a night of violent disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, on Thursday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n

Gregory Campbell, MP and Westminster spokesperson for the DUP on international development, has described recent events in Northern Ireland as \u201ctotally deplorable\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to hope and work towards whatever happened last night, which thankfully was less bad than the night before. We have to try and work towards a situation where tonight there\u2019s none, and going forward there aren\u2019t any either,\u201d he told the Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage show, Vivienne Clarke reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to look at this, we\u2019ve got to try and get the position under control, and I think the police are doing a reasonably good job. And if we can try to see that finished both today and tomorrow and over the weekend, we can then address the fundamental problem, which is the virtually uncontrolled immigration, where we have an increasing population in the UK and we don\u2019t have the services to provide for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell said a \u201chardening\u201d of the Border was \u201cutter nonsense\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t going to be a hardening of the Border, because there can\u2019t be. If you have 300 crossing points on a land border, how on earth do you put in place installations or structures to control that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t do it, and no one, hopefully, is suggesting that that\u2019s the case. Campbell said the blame for how the Sudanese national involved in Tuesday night\u2019s incident was able to travel from Dublin to Belfast lay with both the Irish and UK governments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has to be a better way of analysing people who come from the Middle East and north African countries. For example, if people are leaving there, and I fully understand and completely empathise with why they\u2019re leaving, for example, Sudan and other countries, but if they\u2019re coming through the whole litany of safe countries, why are they coming to the UK? <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to try to ensure that if people are fleeing countries, they go to the nearest safe country rather than travelling hundreds of miles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GregoryGregory Campbell of the DUP. Photograph: Niall Carson\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n

Matthew O\u2019Toole, MLA for Belfast South, has told Newstalk\u2019s Claire Byrne show of his work dealing with the aftermath of what he described as \u201ceffectively race riots and pogroms\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to move some of my constituents to safety just a couple of nights ago, so I have been dealing with the consequences of the reaction to all this,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t take any of this lightly, but it is also true to say that the existence of the Common Travel Area is a public good and has been sacrosanct for people from all political sides for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a legitimate conversation to be had about better information sharing and better processes because clearly there were two jurisdictions on the island, he said, Vivienne Clarke reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want us to retain the Common Travel Area, but yes, protect people and ensure that we have functioning information sharing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMigration and asylum systems needed to work better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MatthewMatthew O\u2019Toole: ‘Migration and asylum systems needed to work better.’ Photograph: Mark Marlow\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n

Minority communities \u2018being blamed for actions of one person\u2019<\/p>\n

Entire minority communities were being collectively blamed for the actions of one person, Derry\u2019s former mayor Lilian Seenoi-Barr has said. She said this was not justice but was racism, dangerous and deeply disturbing.<\/p>\n

Such anti-immigrant actions needed to be called out, but some politicians were not prepared to call it that, Seenoi-Barr said.<\/p>\n

They were using vague language such as community tensions, disorder, violence in the street, but not naming it what it was \u2013 racism, she told RT\u00c9 Radio\u2019s Today with David McCullagh show, Vivienne Clarke reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so disappointing and that needs to stop,\u201d she said. \u201cOur leaders need to show leadership, they need to stop using softened languages, they must speak with the one voice, stand with the communities being attacked and make it very clear racism, intimidation and far-right violence will not be tolerated in Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seenoi-Barr, who is an SDLP councillor, was elected as mayor of Derry city and Strabane in 2024. <\/p>\n

What was happening now in Belfast was similar to what had happened in Ballymena in 2024, she said, when events were \u201cfuelled by a dangerous combination of fear, misinformation spreading online, racist scaremongering, far-right influence\u201d.<\/p>\n

This was indicative of a serious lack of leadership, she said. <\/p>\n

\"LilianLilian Seenoi Barr (centre) speaking to media at Parliament buildings at Stormont on Tuesday. Photograph: Liam McBurney\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

\u201cOur leaders have basically allowed a horrific crime to be exploited by people who want to divide our communities and it mirrors the other thing that is shocking, it\u2019s the language that is being used here has been imported to Northern Ireland from other places. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe see that such language being used in England, it\u2019s being used in America and that is what is worrying us most. We also have to be very honest in Northern Ireland because the context here, there have been a long-standing concern about elements linked to loyalist paramilitary intimidation of minoritised communities, it is not new.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis needs to be tackled and it needs to be taken seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seenoi-Barr acknowledged there were legitimate concerns about the housing shortage in Northern Ireland, but the issue was not that there were too many immigrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is the failure of governments to implement anti-poverty strategy here in Northern Ireland. The problem is the government that has refused to invest in its own people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is the government that has refused to build an infrastructure that can support people and get people out of poverty, not immigration. We don\u2019t have enough people from minoritised communities here to cause such a big havoc in Northern Ireland. That\u2019s the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n

Deputy First Minister: violence and thuggery has no place here<\/p>\n

Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP said the scenes on the streets of Belfast this week were \u201cabsolutely appalling\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s completely unacceptable. Violence and thuggery has no place anywhere here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Everyone across Northern Ireland and beyond had been horrified when they saw the video of the horrific attack on Monday night, she told RT\u00c9 Radio\u2019s Morning Ireland, Vivienne Clarke reports.<\/p>\n

Little-Pengally said she understood people\u2019s frustrations on immigration issues, but there was a minority of people who were determined to turn the issue into one that would spill over into \u201cdisorder, thuggery and violence. And that is absolutely wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of people here in Northern Ireland are appalled by disorder and violence,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are absolutely horrified by thuggery, regardless of where that comes from. So, of course, I think it\u2019s incredibly important to have that strong and united leadership, political leadership, sending clear messages.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, people should remain calm. Peaceful protest is a right. People, of course, have that right to come out and to register frustration on any issue. But, of course, what is not right, what is completely unacceptable, is thuggery and violence. And we\u2019ve been very clear about that. There will always be some elements that do not listen, that do not want to listen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, I believe that they come out intent on trying to turn some of these otherwise peaceful protests into those types of disorder activities. And, of course, that\u2019s very frightening for people in those parts of Northern Ireland. Again, it\u2019s a small number of areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

It had been obvious from some of the audio clips of the violent incidents that there was \u201ca strong aspect of that that is just simply racist\u201d, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat has no part to play in Northern Ireland of 2026, never had any part to play.\u201d <\/p>\n

There were serious questions to be asked about vetting, she added, \u201cabout the immigration policy in the UK, the co-operation with the Irish Government, how those checks happen when people arrive into Dublin. Those are all questions that, of course, should be answered.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment people were frustrated, they wanted to be listened to, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are bad actors out there that are willing to try to, of course, manipulate that. They are willing to try to use that to bring disorder and violence. That is wrong. I absolutely believe there is no space for violence or thuggery or racism. This has to be about politics working for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DeputyDeputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly. Photograph: Liam McBurney\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n

\u2018Appalling racist attacks need to stop\u2019 – Pearse Doherty <\/p>\n

The \u201cappalling racist attacks\u201d in Belfast need to stop, Sinn F\u00e9in deputy leader Pearse Doherty has said. <\/p>\n

Vivienne Clarke reports that he told RT\u00c9\u2019s Morning Ireland: \u201cThey have to stop and we need to see community leaders stepping up in relation to those communities. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe know it\u2019s isolated to predominantly loyalist areas but the scenes that we\u2019re seeing where masked men are going door to door looking to see the colour of somebody\u2019s skin is reminiscent of what happened in the late 60s when the same communities were going looking to see if people were Irish or Catholic and burning them out of their homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is simply unacceptable and we shouldn\u2019t be looking and witnessing those scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The events highlighted once again the need for a bilateral arrangement with the British government in terms of migration, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the Government unfortunately has done is they\u2019ve put all their focus into implementing the EU Migration Pact which doesn\u2019t take into account the fact that we are partitioned, that there\u2019s another member state that is outside the European Union, that there is no official returns policy with Britain at this point in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be very, very clear about that. That is a migration issue. That doesn\u2019t take away in any way from what we\u2019re seeing either in terms of the violent attempted murder or the racist attacks that have been happening and the excuses that have been used by people to involve themselves in wanton criminality over the last 48 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SinnSinn F\u00e9in deputy leader Pearse Doherty has condemned the Belfast attacks. Photograph: Sam Boal\/Collins Photos <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 3 hours ago<\/p>\n

Police in Belfast deployed a water cannon against protesters throwing bricks as unrest sparked by a knife attack took place for a second day. Video: Reuters <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 4 hours ago<\/p>\n

Peace Summit Partnership condemns racist attacks<\/p>\n

The Peace Summit Partnership and Peace Guardians, a group of veteran peacemakers, have condemned the \u201chorrendous incident\u201d on Monday night that sparked this unrest. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an appalling act, and our thoughts are entirely with the victim and their loved ones. We also condemn the racist attacks over the last two nights and stand in solidarity with the families who were violently forced out of their homes,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n

On behalf of the partnership, Tim Attwood said there was an urgent need for collective leadership, accountability and action to prevent further violence and appalling racist attacks. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must stand in solidarity with the family affected by violent attack on Monday and families left in fear after the racist attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday night,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we all have a responsibility to extend the hand of friendship and help those in need. We have a responsibility to remove the barriers of prejudice and fear that separate us. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must intensify our efforts to seek common ground, build bridges where there are walls of division and stand for justice. Words also matter, rather than promoting division we should be speaking a language of inclusion and generosity which respects difference and diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Peace Summit Partnership is an initiative by the John and Pat Hume Foundation, Community Dialogue YouthAction NI, Holywell Trust, Incore (Ulster University), Integrated Education Fund, NI Youth Forum and the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 4 hours ago<\/p>\n

The PSNI has issued a statement saying it would like to speak with the people in these images in connection with serious public disorder in the Belfast area on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this is you, we are asking you to come forward to police now,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who can assist in identifying this person, please contact police. If you have any information or wish to submit photos and footage, including CCTV, mobile phone or dash cam footage please contact police. Please do not comment on this post with information.\u201d<\/p>\n

A report can also be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http:\/\/www.psni.police.uk\/makeareport\/<\/a>or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http:\/\/crimestoppers-uk.org\/<\/a>. You can also contact the PSNI on 101.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe PSNI said it would like to speak with the people in these images in connection with serious public disorder on 9th June 2026 in the Belfast area. Photograph: PSNI <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 4 hours ago<\/p>\n

\u2018Immigrant families are frightened to go out\u2019<\/p>\n

A Belfast clergyman has called on politicians, community leaders and church leaders to send a message that immigrant families are welcome and are part of the community.<\/p>\n

Rev Brian Anderson of the East Belfast Mission of the Newtownards Road told RT\u00c9 Radio\u2019s Morning Ireland of arriving at his church on Tuesday evening to find a bus fully alight with young men in hoods covering their faces trying to barricade the road, Vivienne Clarke reports.<\/p>\n

Anderson said he made efforts to stop them from barricading the road, but was unable to and they moved on to adjoining streets, where he saw cars and houses being set alight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this has caused, fear, uncertainty. The immigrant families who live around the mission here are fearful of their lives, frightened to go out. I was with a family last night, a Romany family. There\u2019s 23 of them living in a very small terrace house, frightened to go out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI arranged for accommodation for them last night, somewhere safe, but they were so frightened to come out of the house, they refused to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an issue for us in Northern Ireland about integrating them into our culture and accepting their culture so that the two can sit together. So I think we want to rally around them. Then the bigger picture is trying to convince the Protestant community particularly that racism is not the way to solve this.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have issues with immigration into Northern Ireland, then let\u2019s deal with those, but you\u2019ll not do it. You\u2019ll not succeed. It\u2019ll not do anything if you do it by violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we have a responsibility \u2013 politicians, community leaders, church leaders \u2013 to try and find forums whereby the anger and the angst can be expressed, but in a way that\u2019s non-violent.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we need to try and get forums to involve those people. Young lads, in particular, that they see a future with their Muslim friends who they\u2019re probably going to school with, who are probably sharing classes with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 4 hours ago<\/p>\n

12 police officers injured, 16 arrests in second night of unrest <\/p>\n

Twelve police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made in the second night of unrest in Northern Ireland following the Belfast knife attack, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said.<\/p>\n

\"ProtestersProtesters clash with police block their way to a hotel previously believed to house migrants, in Glengormley, north of Belfast. Photograph: Henry Nicholls\/AFP via Getty Images \"AA water cannon is fired towards protesters on Antrim Road, at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey on Wednesday. Photograph: \/PA Wire <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 5 hours ago<\/p>\n

Rita Devlin of the Royal College of Nursing has told of efforts being made to ensure nursing staff at hospitals in Northern Ireland from the international community are supported.<\/p>\n

Some of them were very frightened and afraid to come to work, she told RT\u00c9 Radio\u2019s Morning Ireland, Vivienne Clarke reports. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow I have to say our trusts have been extremely good in terms of trying to organise getting staff into work and organising taxis and things for them, but you know there were some staff [who] couldn\u2019t get home and had to stay and work,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 5 hours ago<\/p>\n

Twenty-seven people have been made homeless as a result of the unrest, which broke out following protests over a knife attack that left a man seriously injured.<\/p>\n

A Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid (30), was remanded in custody at Belfast magistrates\u2019 court on Wednesday for four weeks after being charged with attempted murder in relation to Monday\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n

The family of Stephen Ogilvie, the victim, appealed for calm in a statement that stressed the \u201cdeeply valuable contribution\u201d migrants make.<\/p>\n

Anti-immigration protesters also staged a demonstration in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon, when a large crowd descended on Leinster House.<\/p>\n

Protests also took place in Derry on Wednesday night, where police reported items having been set alight on the Ardmore Road.<\/p>\n

Other protests, including at Stormont, took place peacefully.<\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 5 hours ago<\/p>\n

\"AA police officer walks in riot gear on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, north Belfast, on Wednesday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA \"ProtestersProtesters set fires during disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, north Belfast, on Wednesday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPA \"ProtestersProtesters block a road leading to a hotel previously believed to house migrants in Glengormley, north of Belfast, on Wednesday. Photograph: Henry Nicholls\/AFP via Getty Images \"MaskedMasked protesters stand at a police blockade, keeping them from reaching a hotel previously believed to house migrants, in Glengormley, north of Belfast. Photograoh: Henry Nicholls\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 5 hours ago<\/p>\n

Water cannons were deployed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on Wednesday to \u201cmaintain public order\u201d during a second night of anti-immigration rioting in Belfast.<\/p>\n

Masked protesters hurled bricks and missiles at riot police at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey on the outskirts of the city, where more than 200 people gathered before 8pm.<\/p>\n

Two water cannon were fired after officers clashed with the crowd as fires were lit in the street.<\/p>\n

PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher confirmed 200 extra officers were deployed to Belfast to deal with any further unrest on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Main PointsKey Reads Sarah Burns – 2 minutes ago Man and woman aged in 20s charged following Wednesday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4501,14063,42,43,21754,3415,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-494199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-belfast","tag-dup-links","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-police-service-of-northern-ireland-psni","tag-sinn-fein","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}