CO ANTRIM, Northern Ireland: Hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set houses and cars on fire in the town of Ballymena, in Ireland, this week. This was the second night in a row of violence after a protest about a reported sexual assault in the town.
Police said they were dealing with "serious disorder" in Ballymena, which is about 30 miles from Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. They asked people to stay away from the area.
Police officers wearing riot gear and driving armored vehicles responded with water cannons and plastic baton rounds. They did this after rioters threw petrol bombs, pieces of scaffolding, and rocks at them. According to a Reuters witness, the rioters had knocked down nearby walls to collect the stones.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said they had a large operation planned for the coming days in case the violence continued. He also said, "We are actively working to identify those responsible for last night's racially motivated disorder in Ballymena and bring them to justice."
Riot police were sent to the Clonavon Terrace area of Ballymena, where hundreds of people had gathered. One house was burned down, and a police officer vomited after leaving another house that rioters had tried to set on fire, according to the witness.
Several cars were also burned, and one was found flipped over and in flames. Police sirens could be heard all over the town past midnight.
On the first night of the violence, which was June 9, four homes were damaged by fire. Windows and doors of other houses and shops were smashed. Police said they are treating these events as racially motivated hate crimes.
Earlier on June 9, hundreds of people had protested in Ballymena after two teenage boys were brought to court. They are accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the town. Local news said the charges were read to the boys with the help of an interpreter.
Fifteen police officers were hurt, and some had to be taken to the hospital.
Another Reuters witness said that protests occurred in Belfast the next day, and some roads were blocked. However, there were no reports of violence in other parts of Northern Ireland.
A 29-year-old man has been charged with riot-related crimes after being arrested during the unrest in Ballymena on the first night. He is expected to appear in Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday, July 3. He is also charged with disorderly behavior, trying to damage property, and resisting the police.
Henderson said more people are likely to be arrested after police examine video recordings of the events.
The British government and local politicians strongly condemned the violence.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman described the events, which saw police and ethnic minorities targeted, as "very concerning."
"Obviously, the reports of sexual assault in the area are extremely distressing, but there is no justification for attacks on police officers while they continue to protect local communities."
"The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland," Britain's Northern Ireland Minister Hilary Been said on X.
