Twelve police officers were injured and 16 arrests took place last night as a second day of unrest unfolded in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn confirmed the incidents this morning, after riots and protests have ripped across the region following the charging of Hadi Alodid, 30, for the attempted murder of NHS radiographer Stephen Ogilvie.
Footage from the riots show the police were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs with masked rioters in County Antrim on Wednesday night.
A Government vehicle was torched as rioters and police clashed in Newtonabbey in the north west of Belfast.
Men dressed in black with their faces covered were seen knocking bricks away from properties and smashing up paving stones to use as makeshift projectiles to throw at the police.
Public transport was suspended and some schools shut early last night amid fears violence would continue into a second night.
The violence has resulted in 12 police being injured, however, Mr Benn did not reveal the extent of the harm caused.
With the 16 arrests, it is still unknown what the arrests were for.
The police used water cannons on rioters last night in Belfast in order to tame the unrest
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Speaking to GB News, the Met's Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he "feels for colleagues in Police Service in Northern Ireland" and officers "don't enjoy being a political football in culture wars".
He said: "So I really feel for colleagues in Police Service in Northern Ireland, they’re really dealing with some very challenging situations on the street. Of course, there’s been a couple of very contentious incidents.
"Police officers don't enjoy being a political football in the culture wars that so frequently dominate public debate.
"All they want to do out do is go out, take on criminals, protect victims and they’re out there day in and day out protecting fear or favour, and they need that public support rather than being at the centre of this sort of battle of culture wars from either side."
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Rioters in Northern Ireland have caused havoc in the streets
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The Northern Ireland Secretary condemned the "racist thuggery" which has been taking place amid the rioting.
He said, speaking to Sky: "Well, if you are targeting people on the basis of the colour of their skin how else can you describe them? That is racist thuggery, there’s no question about it at all."
Mr Benn also said there has been people stopped in their cars being asked what their nationality is, describing it as "completely unacceptable".
The unrest has sparked after Mr Ogilvie with a kitchen knife on Monday evening, who has subsequently lost his left eye and sustained significant stab wounds to his face, head, neck and back.
Alodid, a Sudanese migrant who entered the UK in 2023, has been charged for the attack.
He had been granted asylum under a "fast-track" Home Office scheme under Rishi Sunak's premiership.
Alodid had travelled from Dublin into Northern Ireland three years ago and was given refugee status shortly after.
Under the scheme, which was set-up by Mr Sunak, the alleged attacker was allowed to stay in the UK after completing a 10-page form.
The programme was set-up to ease the backlog of 92,000 asylum claims during the Tory Government, replacing the face-to-face interview process.
Mr Benn said the scheme is no longer in operation, blaming the Conservatives for "losing control of immigration".
He said, speaking to the Times: "Well it does not exist, because that fast-track process doesn’t operate, because the last government lost control of immigration."
Asylum seekers are now "properly processed", he added, in order for a decision to made if they are granted asylum.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have appealed to the public to help them in identifying individuals in images of the riots and have urged those who were involved to come forward.