Police cars and buses were set on fire in the Irish capital on Thursday evening. Several businesses were also looted. The government blamed “extreme right groups”.
Published
Reading time :
4 mins
:quality(50)/2023/11/24/000-344l4d7-65607b672ed7e341795310.jpg)
The capital of Ireland lived “an extraordinary explosion of violence”, Thursday, November 23, in the evening, according to Commissioner Drew Harris. For several hours, a neighborhood in central Dublin was the scene of violence and of clashes with the police blamed by the police on the far right. Drew Harris thus described “d“Scenes we haven’t seen in decades”. This violence came after a stabbing attack early in the afternoon in Dublin. A man armed with a knife injured five people, including three young children, before being arrested on the spot. Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about this chain of events.
A knife attack in the early afternoon
According to the first elements of the investigation, a man with a knife attacked several people around 1:30 p.m. (local time) in Parnell Square. “It appears to be an isolated attack for which we must determine the reasons”said Liam Geraghty, the local police chief.
According to witnesses, the attack took place near a school, at a time when students were leaving the establishment. A witness explained to public radio and television RTE that passers-by managed to disarm the attacker and tackle him to the ground. According to Micheal Martin, the Irish Deputy Prime Minister, it was a delivery man who intervened to put an end to the attack.
An ambulance arrived three to four minutes after the incident, according to the witness interviewed by RTE. Five people were injured, including a woman and three children. They were all transported to several hospitals, police said, adding that the woman and a 5-year-old girl were “seriously” injured.
The suspect, aged around 50 according to the police, was arrested on the spot. No information on his identity has been released. At this stage, investigators exclude the terrorist motive. The police are not looking “nobody else”specified Liam Geraghty.
:quality(50)/2023/11/24/000-344m2pb-65609d307f148618915868.jpg)
Violent clashes with the police in the evening
In the evening, violence also broke out in a district of Dublin where immigrants live, amid rumors about the origin of the suspect in the knife attack. Police cars and even buses were set on fire and several businesses were looted, according to an AFP journalist on site.
The police were also targeted by projectiles from rioters, some of whom had “Irish Lives Matter” signs and flags of the country. “Irish people are being attacked by this trash”launched one person into the clashes, while others in the crowd spoke of the murder of a young teacher by a Slovak national, recently sentenced to life in prison.
Several hundred people were present during these clashes, according to AFP. Some made hostile remarks towards “mainstream media”. Up to 400 police officers were mobilized in the evening. No serious injuries were reported, according to a police official. Later Thursday evening, police announced that the streets of central Dublin were once again “mostly calm”.
More than 30 people arrested
Commissioner Drew Harris announced that police had arrested 34 people, and “many other arrests will take place” throughout the investigation. Among the 34 suspects already arrested, 32 were expected in court Friday morning. The police officer mentioned a “faction of crazy hooligans driven by far-right ideology” to describe the rioters. “Far-right groups have exacerbated the situation”, he insisted. Ireland, faced with a housing crisis, has in fact seen the development of an anti-immigration discourse under the influence of extremist figures.
The rioters who targeted the police face up to 12 years in prison, Helen McEntee, the Irish Minister of Justice, told RTE. She specified that the police would view numerous video surveillance images, many rioters having not covered their faces. According to Drew Harris, 13 businesses were damaged as well as 11 police vehicles. Three buses were also damaged.
:quality(50)/2023/11/24/000-344q2pr-65609d8875c39137141467.jpg)
A speech of firmness by the authorities
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar denounced the actions of the rioters on Friday: “These people claim to be defending Irish nationals. (…) They are endangering the most innocent and vulnerablehe told the press. They are a shame to Dublin, a shame to Ireland, a shame to their families and themselves.” The leader of the centrist government promised to use “all the resources of the law, the entire machine of the State to punish those who are involved”. He also announced an upcoming modernization of the laws on the exploitation of video surveillance images and the fight against “hate”.
“I think some people definitely used the events of the attack on the children very quickly to organize what happened last night.”also declared Friday the Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Micheal Martin, during a press briefing. “This is not who we are as a people”he assured, adding that Ireland “built a modern and inclusive society”.
The government welcomed the police action on the streets of the capital on Thursday. According to the authorities, the police could not have “anticipate” such a level of violence in response to the knife attack.