Rioters condemned as Hadi Alodid appears in court over Belfast stabbing

By Press Association Reporters

Racist rioting following the Belfast knife attack was condemned by the British prime minister and police chiefs as a Sudanese man appeared in court over the incident which triggered the disorder.

Hadi Alodid, 30, was remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack in which victim Stephen Ogilvie lost an eye.

The reaction to the incident saw mobs set homes, a bus and cars on fire, with people targeted based on their race.

Police fear further violence in the wake of the attack, which was captured on video and has been widely shared online, with high-profile social media accounts using the incident to call for street protests.

Alodid appeared before Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning charged with the attempted murder of Ogilvie, with threats to kill an NHS radiographer and with possession of a knife.

The court heard Ogilvie lost his left eye and suffered deep cuts to his head, face and back.

Alodid, who appeared in court via videolink, made no reply to the charges when they were put to him through an Arabic interpreter.

The court heard Alodid said “I’ve killed someone, I don’t know if they are dead” while in hospital receiving treatment for a hand injury and told medical staff “I will kill you”.

District judge Stephen Keown refused bail after hearing police concerns there could be  “significant public disorder” if he was released due to “strong public feeling” about the incident.

The judge warned that anyone who plans to take part in further disorder in Northern Ireland should “be prepared to go to prison” and said the courts “won’t tolerate” any attacks on emergency services.

British prime minister Keir Starmer said the rioting in Belfast was “shocking and completely unacceptable”.

“It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it,” he said. “Those responsible will feel the full force of the law.”

Police forces across the UK are monitoring intelligence on protests and have plans in place to allow them to mobilise officers should further disorder break out.

Online posts from people including Elon Musk, the boss of social media platform X, and far-right activist Tommy Robinson highlighted demands for people to take to the streets in the wake of Monday’s attack.

Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister Naomi Long said social media agitators who “yesterday would have struggled to find Belfast on a map” were “weaponising the fear that people genuinely have about what happened”.

“Because, ultimately, if you’re driving people from their homes based on nothing but the colour of their skin, you can’t dress that up any other way, it’s racism, and those bad faith actors need to take a step back,” Long told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

A Glider bus was set alight in east Belfast, in Lendrick Street several cars were set alight and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service officers had to remove some residents from houses after they caught fire.

A number of houses and vehicles were set on fire near the Ligoniel Road area of Belfast and a police car was set alight in Portadown.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the disorder was a “huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots who are actually only damaging their own futures”.

He told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster: “We lobbied continually for people to recognise how great Northern Ireland is.

“Last night took us back seismically.”

A two-month-old baby was among those rescued during the violence, the chief constable said.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows witnessed disorder on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast.

“These were mostly children less than 16, faces covered and believing that their patriotic duty was to go and set fire to a Glider bus, to try and find homes that were linked to immigrants. Those scenes were absolutely horrendous,” he told Good Morning Ulster.

Anselme Shima, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who lives with his wife, two sons and daughter near Lendrick Street, said it was a “very scary moment” for his family.

He told the Press Association: “It’s just a terrifying moment, we don’t know what to do. I’m scared. Seeing this, I’m wondering if I’m next. If this happened (again), is my house the next to be attacked? I don’t know.”

Monday’s stabbing was captured on video and appears to show a man stabbing at the victim’s head and neck while he was lying on the ground.

The clip shows people, including one with a hurling stick, intervening to stop the attack in the Kinnaird Avenue residential area close to the busy Antrim Road in north Belfast.

A kitchen knife was recovered from the scene.

Alodid entered Northern Ireland across the Irish border in February 2023 having flown to Dublin from Paris.

He claimed asylum upon arrival and in September 2023 was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2028.