Riots consume Belfast over attempted beheading by Sudanese immigrant

Published June 9, 2026 5:49pm ET | Updated June 9, 2026 5:49pm ET



Protests and riots broke out in Belfast, United Kingdom, the day after a Sudanese immigrant stabbed and attempted to behead a local.

A bystander filmed the crime on Monday night, in which a Sudanese immigrant straddled and tried to behead a man in his 40s with a kitchen knife. The victim narrowly survived after the intervention of locals, but the attack sparked outrage against the government’s immigration policies after a week of tension over the police handling of the murder of university student Henry Nowak. Protests were announced in Northern Ireland’s capital early in the day, with police urging participants to be calm, but Tuesday night saw mobs block streets, set fire to vehicles, and clash with police.

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