“Rioting and disorder” in Ballymena, Northern Ireland sees “hate-fueled acts” reportedly targeting foreigners

London – Hundreds of masked demonstrators attacked police on a second night of “riots and troubles” in the city of Ballymena in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, injuring 17 police officers, police said. Northern Ireland police sentenced the troubles on Wednesday, saying that 32 police officers had been injured in total since the disorder – apparently an explosion in simmered racial tension – was triggered by alleged sexual assault in the city.

“Insanted violence has been observed in the last two nights in Ballymena is deeply worrying and totally unacceptable,” said gendarme Jon Boutcher a declaration. “The acts fueled by hatred and the rod rule only tear the fabric of our society. They do not solve anything and do not serve anyone.”

At least five people were arrested overnight because four houses were damaged by fires and demonstrators broke the windows of houses and businesses, according to CBS News partner, the BBC News network.

“The police were subjected to a sustained attack over several hours with several petrol bombs, a heavy masonry, bricks and fireworks in their direction,” the Northern Ireland police service said in a statement.

The demonstrations started just a few hours after two 14 -year -old boys appeared on Monday in a court for the alleged sexual assault of a teenager in the city. BBC News said the boys had communicated through a Romanian interpreter.

Ballymena has a large population of immigrants, according to the AFP news agency.

Residents described violence as “terrifying” and told AFP that “foreigners” were targeted.

A Romanian resident in Ballymena told the Irish Times newspaper on Tuesday that she had put a British flag on her window before to avoid being targeted.

The Northern Ireland legislator, Paul Frew, told BBC radio, which he feared that violence will become deadly, saying that tension in the city has been increasing for some time, and that people were “afraid of illegal immigration”.

There was no confirmed information on the immigration status of adolescents who appeared on Monday before the court.