Belfast’s race riots: what happened next?

In The News · Sep 22, 2026 · 31m

The scenes of violence and rampant destruction on the streets of Belfast on June 9th were reminiscent of disorder we’ve seen before.

But these were not sectarian-motivated attacks, instead they were race riots, with mobs of young men attacking migrants.

When calm was restored, at least 88 migrant families had been made homeless, either because their home had been attacked or burned out, or because the threats were so terrifying they are too fearful to return.

The riots had been sparked by a brutal knife attack earlier that day; a Sudanese national has since been charged with the crime.

Why…