Anti-Immigrant Riot Erupts in Dublin

Clashes between demonstrators and police erupted outside of a Dublin hotel housing asylum seekers late Wednesday, in a second night of violent anti-immigrant protests in the Irish capital sparked by reports of an alleged sexual assault of a young girl by a migrant, the BBC reported.

Hundreds of protesters marched outside the CityWest Hotel, waving Irish flags and holding signs featuring anti-immigrant slogans. There were reports of vandalism, and some demonstrators threw stones, bottles and fireworks at officers.

Police said two officers were injured and 23 people were arrested on public order offenses, the Guardian wrote.

Wednesday’s violence followed clashes a day earlier, when hundreds of people protested outside the hotel complex and later fought with police. One police vehicle was set on fire and six people were arrested, according to Euronews.

The unrest followed reports that a 26-year-old asylum seeker had sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl on the hotel grounds. The suspect – whose identity and nationality have not been disclosed – was later charged in connection with the assault.

Police officials condemned the violence as “unacceptable,” adding that it was organized by “disparate groups on social media, who stir up hatred and violence.”

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin denounced the attacks on the officers, while acknowledging the “concern, anger and worry of many people” over the assault on the girl. He added that there “has been failure here in terms of the state’s obligation to protect this child.”

This week’s protests come nearly two years after a similar anti-immigrant unrest in Dublin, which erupted after the stabbing of three children outside a school by a man in his 50s from Algeria, Al Jazeera added.

Although Ireland has no far-right members in parliament, authorities have reported a sharp rise in anti-immigrant protests and violence in recent years, including arson attacks targeting asylum-seeker accommodations.

Many demonstrators have cited frustration over rising violent crime and worsening housing shortages as reasons for their anger.