Six people have been arrested after disorder broke out for a second night across Northern Ireland, with 17 officers injured.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said officers in Ballymena “came under sustained attack over a number of hours” with fireworks, petrol bombs and bricks.
Tuesday evening saw a second night of rioting and disorder in the Co Antrim town, with “sporadic disorder” reported in Belfast, Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus.
Protests also took place in areas of Lisburn and Coleraine.
Stormont ministers across the powersharing Executive have condemned the disorder, saying those who look to exploit anger over an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena over the weekend to “sow racial tensions… have nothing to offer their communities but division and disorder”.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs: “I utterly condemn the violence that we have seen overnight in Ballymena and in other parts of Northern Ireland.”
Some of the officers injured in Ballymena required hospital treatment, the force said, adding that it deployed Attenuating Energy Projectiles and a water cannon in an attempt to disperse the crowds.
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Five people were arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour. They remain in police custody as of Wednesday morning.
The PSNI said a man was also arrested on suspicion of disorderly behaviour on the O’Neill Road in Newtownabbey.
Violent disorder broke out in Ballymena on Monday following a peaceful protest supporting the family of a girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted in the area over the weekend.
Two teenage boys have been charged with attempted rape. The charges were read to them by a Romanian interpreter at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said on Tuesday that some anti-immigrant groups then broke away from the Ballymena vigil.
He described the scenes as “racist thuggery” and said the force was actively working to identify those responsible for the “racially motivated disorder”.
Sky correspondent Connor Gillies, who was in Ballymena on Tuesday, said one family had to barricade itself into the attic of their home as the clashes worsened.
Eyewitness: It is hard to see where the violence will end
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Other families displayed posters on their windows in a desperate bid to ensure their house did not become a target, or had Union Jack flags on full display.
Photos from Ballymena show one property with its windows boarded up and signs saying “Filipino lives here”.
‘Justice needs to take its course’
In response to the disorder, the leader of the conservative party Traditional Unionist Voice, Jim Allister, said that while the scenes were “very distressing,” he pointed to concerns about “unchecked migration”.
“There has been a bit of authorities not wanting to face up to the racial background of some of this over the years,” the MP for North Antrim added.
“That unchecked migration which is beyond what the town can cope with, is a source of past and future tensions, that is the reality of it.”
Mr Allister then called for the violence to stop, and added he had spoken to the family of the girl who was the victim of the alleged sexual assault and that they did not want to see violent scenes.
“There needs now to be a period of calm and justice needs to take its course,” he added.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Sinn Fein, the DUP, Alliance Party and UUP called for calm in a joint statement from the Stormont Executive.
They said: “While all of our citizens have the right to engage in peaceful protest, there can never be any justification for the violence that has taken place in recent days, during which residents have been terrorised and numerous PSNI officers injured.”
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‘Absolutely no justification’ for violence – minister
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “The mindless violence witnessed over the past two nights in Ballymena is deeply concerning and utterly unacceptable.”
He added that “ironically, and frustratingly, this violence threatens to derail the very pursuit of justice it claims to challenge,” and said: “Let me be clear: this behaviour must stop. I appeal to everyone involved to cease all further acts of criminality and disorder immediately.”
Hilary Benn, secretary of state for Northern Ireland, added on X: “The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland.
“There is absolutely no justification for attacks on PSNI officers or for vandalism directed at people’s homes or property.”
