Violence erupted in Ireland after reports circulated that a man who stabbed three minors this week outside a Dublin school was a foreigner. Authorities have not released his nationality.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday condemned the destruction caused by anti-immigrant protesters in central Dublin following the stabbing of three young children, stressing that the rioters simply wanted to cause chaos, not protect the country's way of life.
Police made more arrests on Friday night as they carried out a wide-ranging security operation in the Irish capital to ensure there was no repeat of Thursday's riots. Several people were placed in police vans after sporadic altercations.
Police arrested 34 individuals after Thursday night's melee, when up to 500 people looted stores, set vehicles on fire and threw rocks at riot police.
Violence broke out on Thursday afternoon after reports that the man who attacked three minors outside a Dublin school was a foreigner. Authorities have not released his nationality.
Varadkar claimed that Ireland's capital had suffered two attacks: one against innocent children and the other against "our society and the rule of law."
“These criminals did not do what they did because they love Ireland, they did not do what they did because they wanted to protect the Irish people, they did not do it out of any sense of patriotism, however twisted,” Varadkar told reporters on Friday. tomorrow. “They did it because they are full of hate, they love violence, they love chaos and they love causing pain to others.”
A 5-year-old girl was in critical condition in a Dublin hospital, and a teacher's assistant was in serious condition, police said. A 6-year-old girl is still receiving treatment for less serious injuries and another child was released overnight. The alleged aggressor, who was subdued by witnesses, remains hospitalized in serious condition.
Thursday's unrest came amid rising tensions over immigration in Ireland that mirror trends elsewhere in Europe. This year, people carrying banners reading “Ireland is already full” protested in Dublin, while some demonstrators blocked access to a hotel housing asylum seekers in County Clare on the west coast.
Ireland welcomed more than 141,000 migrants in the 12 months ending in April, the highest total since 2007, the latest government statistics show. The arrival of migrants caused an 11.7% increase in the country's population over the past 11 years, which has contributed to a steady rise in housing prices.
When asked about the tensions that have arisen this year around the issue of immigration, Varadkar told the Irish Parliament that there is always room for peaceful protest, but that violence, intimidation and racism are never legitimate.
“I think when it comes to this issue, we should never lose sight of the bigger picture: we are facing a huge refugee crisis, not just here in Ireland, but across Europe,” he declared in May.
Commissioner Drew Harris, head of Ireland's national police, described Thursday's protesters as a "faction of completely lunatic hooligans driven by far-right ideology."
More than 400 officers, many in riot gear, were deployed throughout the city center to contain the riots. A security cordon was established around the Parliament building, Leinster House, and officers on horseback patrolled nearby Grafton Street.
A police officer was seriously injured in clashes with the agitators, some of whom were carrying metal bars and had their faces covered.
“These (riots) are scenes we haven't seen in decades, but what is clear is that people have been radicalized through social media and the internet,” Harris told reporters.
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