Published on 6/14/2026
Yesterday, Saturday, thousands of people participated in an anti-racism march in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland after violent unrest over a stabbing incident.
The demonstrators carried banners bearing slogans such as “Hate is the only threat to our streets” and “Belfast stands against racism.”
Read also
list of 2 itemsend of list
The city witnessed two nights of unrest after a video clip spread of a knife attack that occurred on Monday night, showing a man climbing onto another man lying in the street and stabbing him with a knife.
A Sudanese man appeared before the court on Wednesday on charges of attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie, who is still in hospital.
Belfast Mayor Royce-Mair Donnelly told the crowd that a small minority could not be allowed to “spread fear and hatred”, adding that she had received death threats this week.
“You are the Belfast I represent – a resilient, compassionate and welcoming city. Our city is stronger because of its diversity,” she continued.
Demonstrator Hilary Hunter (63 years old) told Agence France-Presse that she attended because she was “disgusted by what is happening in our beautiful country.”
“Everyone is here just to show that these people… who are causing all these problems do not speak on our behalf,” she added at the rally organized by the United Against Racism group.
Northern Ireland Affairs Minister Hilary Benn said on Thursday that the riots had created a feeling of fear, after some people were “intimidated” and “masked thugs burned down their homes because of the color of their skin.”
He pointed to reports of people being stopped in their cars to ask them about their nationality on their way to work, stressing that this is “completely unacceptable.”
Local councilor Seamus de Vout, of the Social Democratic Labor Party, the main nationalist party in Northern Ireland, said people had come out to show they were “shocked” by “racist violence”.
He added that organizations across the city are working tirelessly to house people who have become “too afraid” to return to their homes.
Immigration is a sensitive issue in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, and has contributed to the rise of the far-right British Reform Party, led by Nigel Farage.
