A second night of serious riots broke out in the Northern Irish town of Ballymena. Police were again pelted with “Molotov” cocktails, stones and fireworks, BNR reported.
Crowds gathered in the area of the street where the riots broke out on Monday night, called by the authorities “racially motivated hate attacks“. Police used batons and water cannons. Citizens were asked to avoid the area. Monday's violence erupted after an earlier peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault in the town by two teenagers against a girl of their age, with the perpetrators believed to be of Romanian origin.
15 police officers were injured last night, as well as two police cars. Doors and windows of buildings were smashed, and four houses were damaged by fire. A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, attempted criminal damage and resisting police.
Last night in Ballymena was very similar to Monday's scene. Fireworks, bottles, pieces of metal and all manner of objects were flying towards the cordons of riot police, who were equipped with body armour and shields. Liam Kelly, chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, told the media that the high number of police injuries reminded the media of "a frightening story of a mob determined to cause great harm". He added that despite their modest resources, the police managed to defuse a potentially explosive situation and enforce compliance with the law, calling what happened “completely senseless, unacceptable and savage”.