Ballymena: Rioters unleashed a second night of violent unrest in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, attacking police officers, torching homes, and setting vehicles ablaze in the wake of a protest over an alleged sexual assault in the town. Masked groups roamed the streets late into Tuesday night, hurling petrol bombs, rocks, and scaffolding at riot police, who responded with water cannons and non-lethal rounds.
According to a Reuters witness, chaos escalated as rioters dismantled nearby walls to create makeshift projectiles. A house was completely burned out, and another was targeted with arson while a police officer reportedly vomited after exiting the smoke-filled residence. At least one car was found overturned and in flames, while police sirens pierced the night across Ballymena.
The unrest follows a protest on Monday sparked by the court appearance of two teenage boys charged with the sexual assault of a teenage girl in the County Antrim town. The charges were reportedly read through an interpreter. That night, four homes were damaged by fire and several other properties and businesses were vandalized. Police confirmed they are treating the violence as racially motivated hate attacks. Fifteen officers sustained injuries during the first wave of disorder.
By 1:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) on Wednesday, authorities said order had been restored in Ballymena, located about 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of Belfast.
Unrest spilled over into Tuesday, with additional protests disrupting traffic in Belfast, and sporadic incidents of disorder reported in Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, and parts of north Belfast.
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Condemnation came swiftly from both the British government and Northern Ireland’s local leadership.
“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 Benn said on X (formerly Twitter).
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Despite the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that brought an end to three decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, flare-ups of violence still occur amid local tensions, especially involving issues of race and justice.
