Twelve police officers injured and 16 arrests on second night of NI violence

Twelve police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made in the second night of trouble in Northern Ireland following the Belfast knife attack, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said.

A clean up operation is underway after disorder was concentrated along one street in Glengormley - just outside of Belfast - where police deployed water cannon to disperse a crowd.

The group gathered close to the Sandyknowes roundabout and individuals were see throwing missiles at the police and setting bins alight.

The protests and violence were sparked after a man was left with serious injuries, including losing an eye, after being attacked in north Belfast on Monday night.

A 30-year-old Sudanese man appeared in Belfast Magistrates' Court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder.

The family of the victim, Stephen Ogilvie, said they did not want this "terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility," and appealed for privacy.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn condemned the "racist thuggery" seen in the wake of the Belfast knife attack.

Asked on Sky News on Thursday, whether they were racist riots rather than protests, he said: "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."

Benn also said: "We've had reports of people being stopped in their cars to be asked what their nationality is on their way to work, and this is completely unacceptable."

A number of people tried to intervene when Ogilvie was attacked.

One man, Maitiu Mág Tighearnán, was seen wielding a hurling stick, as he tried to help the victim.

He said he had dropped his son off at hurling practice when he saw what he thought was a fight on the road.

He and a friend got the hurling stick from the boot of the car and Mág Tighearnán said his "instinct then was just to run straight across".

"There's a man lying there, I just heard 'he's being stabbed', there was blood everywhere. The first thing is that man needs help so it's a natural reaction for me and most people that I know would also do the same."

He said while people have described what he did as "heroic", he said for him it was a "natural reaction that took place at that time".

Police have released a number of images of people they would like to identify following the disorder.

Meanwhile, some 200 mutual aid officers will be on the ground from Thursday, a day after Chief Constable Jon Boutcher insisted those responsible for the disorder will be dealt with.

Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said those who have been engaging in disorder across Belfast are "only destroying their own communities and the cause they claim to support".

Little-Pengelly told BBC Breakfast that while people in Northern Ireland and across the UK have concerns around immigration and vetting, people are "trying to use those genuinely held concerns in the wider community to try to bring that disorder and violence, and indeed at times racism to the streets of Belfast".

"My message is very clear to those people who are intent on doing so – they do absolutely nothing to support the cause of getting those issues amplified."

Wednesday's violence was not to the same extent as Tuesday night's that saw condemnation from politicians and police.

During the violence, a Department for Infrastructure depot was broken into and a vehicle set alight at Sandyknowes.

The Minister Liz Kimmins condemned it and the disorder was "disgraceful and disgusting".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said those behind the violence "will feel the full force of the law".

There were also peaceful protests at Stormont Estate and Coleraine.

The Northern Health Trust said some outpatient appointments were rescheduled and some services stood down "as a precautionary measure" at the nearby Whiteabbey Hospital.

Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old originally from Sudan, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over the attack that caused serious injuries to the victim, Stephen Ogilvie.

He is also charged with possession of a knife in a public place and threats to kill an NHS worker.

Ogilvie, who is in his 40s, has lost his left eye and has damage to his right eye, along with injuries to his neck and back.

The victim's family said that in response to "false information circulating on social media" they needed to "clarify" that he is in a "stable" condition.

They also appealed for "peaceful protest as the only way forward" and said there were "many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country".