Anti-migrant rioters in Northern Ireland set homes, and then a refuge site, ablaze

BALLYMENA, Northern Ireland — Glass and stones still littered the pavement of Clonavon Terrace on Wednesday afternoon when groups of young people in dark clothing and face masks began roaming the streets of Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

The skeletons of two burned-out homes stood against the bluebird sky, and children peered out of windows as heavily armored police vehicles lumbered through the town, about 30 miles northwest of Belfast, where two nights of riots had left residents on edge.

By dusk, the streets were again echoing with cracks of fireworks, stones and shattered Molotov cocktails as the police squared off for a third night against anti-immigrant rioters.

For days, violence has broken out in several communities in Northern Ireland, including a spate of arson attacks that have targeted the homes of immigrants after an alleged sexual assault in Clonavon Terrace on Saturday.

In Larne, about 20 miles east, masked groups on Wednesday set fire to a recreation center that had been used as an emergency shelter for families forced out of Ballymena earlier in the week. No one was injured, and local authorities told the BBC later that the families had been safely relocated. But the incident appeared to illustrate how certain groups were being pursued by rioters, even as authorities tried to protect them.

The unrest began Monday after two 14-year-old boys appeared in court, charged with the attempted oral rape of a teenage girl Saturday night. The boys spoke through a Romanian translator, the BBC reported, and both denied the charges through their lawyer. The Police Service of Northern Ireland has declined to confirm the nationality of the boys or their identities, in keeping with local rules that prevent the naming of individuals who have been arrested or charged.

On Monday evening, hundreds of people marched, initially peacefully, through Ballymena. But a number of masked individuals broke away and began to build barricades, stockpiling projectiles and attacking properties.

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