British police braced for far-right violence at the weekend after another night of disorder
LONDON: Police across Britain braced for more violence on Saturday after another night of rioting by far-right protesters left four officers hospitalized outside a mosque in the northeastern English city of Sunderland.
Protesters threw beer kegs, fire extinguishers and rocks at police officers during Friday evening's violent unrest. A car was set on fire and a police station was attacked. According to the police, many of the people involved were not from the city and traveled to create chaos.
The violence in Sunderland, which led to the arrest of ten people, is the latest outbreak of violence in the past few days and nights, apparently following a stabbing attack on Monday at a dance class in the seaside town north-west of Southport that left three people dead. Is. The girls were killed and several wounded. A 17-year-old man was arrested.
False rumors about the young man's identity, whether he was a Muslim or an immigrant, that spread online sparked the fury of far-right fans. Suspects under the age of 18 are not usually named in the UK, but Judge Andrew Menary ordered that Axel Rudakobana, who was born in Wales to Rwandan parents, be identified to prevent the spread of false information.
At a press conference on Saturday after the clean-up, Northumbria Police chief Mark Hall described the violent protests in Sunderland as “unforgivable” and that four police officers were injured, three as a direct result of the disorder. He also said that a rider was seriously injured in this incident and is being treated in the hospital.
“Throughout the night, our officers encountered intense and sustained violence,” he said. “Make no mistake, if you were involved in this last night, expect to face the full force of the law.”
More than 20 protests are expected over the weekend, including in Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester. Police said many were organized online by underground far-right groups that mobilized support with slogans such as “enough is enough,” “save our children” and “stop the boats.” It is also expected that the “Standing Against Racism” organization will demonstrate against Islamophobia and the extreme right.
Police have deployed more officers over the weekend, made more jail cells available and will deploy surveillance and facial recognition technology.
Britain's new Labor Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on social media platform X on Saturday that criminals who attack police and incite disorder will “pay the price” for mobsters and that police have the government's full support to take the “strongest possible action”. . “
Far-right demonstrators have held several violent protests since the stabbing, clashing with police outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday – near the scene of the horrific stabbing – and throwing beer cans, bottles and flares near the Prime Minister's Office. A minister in London was involved the next day. . People in Southport are understandably angry at the organized acts of violence that have compounded their shock and grief.
Monday's attack on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and disturbing problem, although mass stabbings are rare.
Rodacobana has been charged with murder for the attack that killed 9-year-old Alice DaSilva Aguiar, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and 6-year-old Bibi King. He has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for eight children and two adults. injured
Prime Minister Keir Starmer blamed the violence on “far-right hatred” and vowed to end the unrest. He said police across the UK would be given more resources to prevent “lawlessness on our streets”.
At a news conference on Thursday, the prime minister said street violence was “clearly fueled by far-right hatred” as he announced a plan to allow police to better share information between agencies and quickly respond to make an arrest.
This is coordinated. Starmer said it was intentional. This is not a protest that has gotten out of hand. “This is a group of people who are quite prone to violence.”
