LIVERPOOL: Violent riots swept through several British cities on Saturday, injuring police and damaging property in the country’s most widespread unrest in 13 years after the murders of three young girls in northwest England.
Riots involving hundreds of anti-immigration protesters erupted in towns and cities after false information quickly spread on social media that the suspect in a knife attack at a children’s dance class in Southport on Monday was a radical Muslim migrant.
Police said the suspect, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, was born in Britain, but protests by anti-immigration and anti-Muslim demonstrators have continued, turning violent, arson and looting.
Violent riots broke out in Liverpool, Bristol, Hull and Belfast – four cities located in different corners of the UK – with fights breaking out and bricks and bottles being thrown as anti-immigration protesters confronted anti-racism groups.
Many police officers were injured as they tried to prevent clashes between several hundred rival protesters – mostly young men who chanted slogans.
In Liverpool, two officers were in hospital with suspected facial fractures, while another was pushed from a motorbike and assaulted in the disturbance involving about 750 protesters and a similar number of rival protesters, said Merseyside Police, which oversees the north-west city.
At least two shops in Liverpool were vandalized and looted, police added.
Similar scenes were witnessed in the south-west city of Bristol, although anti-racist protesters outnumbered anti-immigration groups, with television footage showing them facing off against police in riot gear.
Some businesses in Belfast reported property damage, with at least one set on fire, police said.
“I have no reason why they attacked us,” said Rahmi Akyol, standing outside the broken glass door of his Belfast cafe, which he said was attacked by dozens of people with bottles and chairs.
“I’ve lived here for 35 years. My kids and my wife are from here. I don’t know what to say, it’s terrible,” he said.
Across Britain, police have arrested dozens of individuals for offenses ranging from violent disorder to burglary and criminal damage.
Extra police have been deployed after an attack on a mosque in Southport on Tuesday, while mosques across the country have been advised to step up security.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, facing his first major test since being elected a month ago, condemned the “far right” for the wave of violence and backed police to take tough action. He discussed the mess with senior ministers on Saturday, his office said.
The last time riots broke out in Britain was in 2011, when there was a much larger outbreak of violence when thousands took to the streets for five nights after police in London shot and killed a black man.
On Friday night, hundreds of anti-immigration protesters in Sunderland threw stones at police in a riot near a mosque before overturning vehicles, setting fire to a car and setting a fire near a police station.
“This was not a protest. It was unforgivable violence and disorder,” Mark Hall, chief inspector of Sunderland, told reporters on Saturday.
Some other protests were planned for Sunday.
