Migrant shelters targeted and police officers injured during protests

Law enforcement said it had made nearly 150 arrests since Saturday.

In the United Kingdom, anti-immigrant and Islamophobic rioters are causing a surge in violence not seen in more than a decade. At least two hotels housing asylum seekers were targeted by protesters on Sunday, August 4, during marches supported by the far right and whose slogan “Enough is enough”, referred to the arrival of migrants in the UK.

In Tamworth, near Birmingham, local police intervened in the evening near a hotel targeted by a “large group of individuals”, who have “threw projectiles, broke windows, lit fires and targeted police”.

In Rotherham, in the north of the country, several hundred people gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers. Rioters smashed windows, started a fire, threw objects at police officers, while others shouted slogans such as “Put them out.” At least ten police officers were injured, according to local police.

Finally, in Middlesbrough, there were also disturbances in the town centre. An AFP team had its camera broken by protesters. Other protests took place across the country, in Aldershot, Bolton and Weymouth, in a generally tense climate.

“I guarantee you will regret having participated in this disorder.”whether directly or indirectly, “by provoking these online actions”Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. He promised that his government would “whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice as quickly as possible”while theLaw enforcement officials say they have made nearly 150 arrests since Saturday. The Minister of the Interior, Yvette Cooper, described these acts as “absolutely terrible.”

Sunday marked the fifth day of violence in the UK. On Tuesday, a mosque was targeted in the town of Southport. The riots started in this town in the northwest of the country, after that three girls were killed in a knife attack on Monday. In the hours following the tragedy, and despite the arrest of a suspect, a 17-year-old boy, Multiple rumors and false information have invaded social networks, sowing confusion about the religion and origin of the alleged attacker.

In some cities, anti-racism counter-protests have taken place, including in Liverpool, Hull, Belfast, Leeds, Sunderland and Southport. On Sunday, Liverpool religious leaders representing different faiths issued a statement calling for unity.