Fireworks and bottles thrown at police in second night of Ballymena violence
Petrol bombs, bricks, bottles and fireworks were thrown at police on Tuesday night, in a second night of serious disorder in Ballymena.
Policefired baton rounds and used a water cannon to disperse protesters, who set at least one car on fire and smashed the windows of several houses, with officers also bringing riot dogs to the scene.
Crowds gathered in the Clonavon Terrace area, which is where violent disorder, described by police as “racist thuggery”, also broke out on Monday night.
Disorder began on Monday after an earlier peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault in the County Antrim town.
The protest was organised hours after two teenage boys appeared before Coleraine Magistrates’ Court accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
They spoke through an interpreter in Romanian to confirm their names and ages.
Their solicitor said they would be denying the charges.
A third man was arrested on Monday night in connection with the sexual assault but was unconditionally released.
Democratic Unionist Party assembly member Paul Frew told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he feared someone will be killed.
“That’s why this violence must stop,” he said.
Frew said the disorder was “drowning out the strong and sincere sympathies for victims of sexual violence”.
He said tensions had been rising for some time in Ballymena and and people were “frightened about illegal immigration”.
Police said the disorder broke out shortly before 20:00 BST.
Barricades were set on fire and were used by rioters to block roads.
Order was restored at about 01:00 on Wednesday.
Police added that they also dealt with sporadic incidents of disorder in Newtonabbey, Carrickfergus and north Belfast.
In Ballymena, riot officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) issued warnings over loud speaker for the crowds to disperse before firing baton rounds and usingwater cannon.
Getty ImagesPolice said a number of homes and businesses were attacked.
Two homes were set on fire as crowds were dispersed into other areas of the town.
Other properties had windows smashed.
Some people put signs on their own homes displaying the nationalities of those inside – for example one saying “British household” and another with “Filipino lives here”.
Alliance Party assembly member Sian Mulholland told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme there was a heavily pregnant woman in one of the houses that was set on fire.
“We were able to direct the police to remove that family and get them out of the area to safety, to the police station,” she said.
Mulholland said there was “widespread livestreaming on social media of the violence – directing people where to go, how to get around the police barricades”.
On Tuesday, Mulholland, told the Northern Ireland Assembly that a family with three young children had to “barricade themselves into their attic” during disorder.
The disorder on Monday night also saw a number of homes seriously damaged by fire.
A number of businesses were also damaged, with windows and doors smashed.
A 29-year-old man has been charged with riotous behaviour, disorderly behaviour, attempted criminal damage and resisting police after Monday’s violence.
Police urged anyone involved in the unrest “to reflect long and hard about their actions”, and indicated some people on Monday night were “clearly intent on violence”.
On Tuesday, the prime minister’s official spokesman described the events in Ballymena as “very concerning”.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said there was “no justification” for the rioting.
The MP for North Antrim, Jim Allister, posted on his social media: “Tonight’s further senseless violence in Ballymena is helping no cause, just destroying our own town and getting young men criminal records. Stop it.”
Town now calm after night of trouble
At the scene: Linzi Lima, BBC News NI reporter
There is still a police presence in Ballymena this morning. I’ve seen multiple police cars doing laps of the area to check what’s going on.
The clean-up operation is well under way with most roads clear of the of debris or burning items that blocked them last night.
Scorch marks and melted bins remain as a reminder of what happened.
Fire crews have just extinguished a small fire behind a wall close to Clonavon Road and streetcleaners are working to clean the area.
The area itself is very quiet but there are a number of homes with windows smashed and doors ajar. Looking inside, you can see destruction and smashed objects.
But it’s quiet here now, aside from the media and the clean-up operation.
Getty ImagesEarlier on Tuesday, Allister rejected criticism from a fellow Northern Ireland MP that his condemnation of Monday’s violence was “insincere” and “weaselly”.
He said he “utterly repudiated” the comments by Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Claire Hanna.
Speaking on BBC Newsline, the Traditional Unionist Voice leader said his thoughts were with all who suffered in the violence but also the 14-year-girl who was the alleged victim of the sexual assault.
He added that the underlying tensions had been “there for a long time in this particular part of Ballymena” because there was “an oversubscription of migrants who had been placed there”.
GettyWhen asked about what evidence he was drawing on, Allister said the last time he canvassed a street in the area with 50 houses, he came “upon five local, if I can call them that, residents of Ballymena”.
Hanna, the MP for south Belfast, responded by saying “some politicians are choosing to explain away” episodes of violence.
“We are hearing words of condemnation which are, at best insincere, and many people would describe as weaselly,” she added.
“You can choose each day when you have a mandate and a platform to get up and try and solve problems or you can choose to exploit them, you can choose to try to calm tensions or you can try and fan them.”
What have other NI politicians said?
Earlier, previous comments from Jim Allister on Monday, that there had been a demographic change due to “unfettered immigration” in the area, were also criticised by Hanna’s party colleague Matthew O’Toole, who said they were “deeply irresponsible”.
Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said she was appalled by the “disturbing scenes” while Sinn Féin’s Philip McGuigan, who represents the North Antrim constituency, appealed for calm and urged political leaders to “use measured language”.
