Twelve police officers injured on second night of 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.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said there was "no evidence" the disorder was coordinated by loyalist paramilitaries, but said there is "significant " coordination on social media.

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 clean up operation is underway after disorder was concentrated along one street in Glengormley - just outside of Belfast - where police deployed water cannon and fired baton rounds.

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

Following trouble in Portadown on Wednesday, there are boarded up windows and tarmac on street corners.

Two people have been charged for a number of offences.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said they received 82 emergency calls on Wednesday night with crews attending 33 incidents across Northern Ireland.

Incidents included fires to vehicles, a house, a derelict building and industrial bins.

"This violent behaviour by a thuggish minority will not be tolerated," said Henderson.

He added that those involved are not intent on peaceful protest.

"What we have seen is significant coordination from online social media activity, some from people within Northern Ireland and some from outside of Northern Ireland, outside the island of Ireland, generating that activity.

"That momentum, that drive, that toxicity is what's bringing people out onto the streets. It needs to stop," he said.

He said there have been no arrests over social media content, but that police are "actively patrolling areas" that have been shared online and "seeking out bad actors".

"I want to say directly to the big social media companies, if you're hosting material content on your sites that is encouraging disorder, that needs to stop."

"Tonight we will be back on the ground in significant numbers."

Henderson warned water cannon would again be deployed tonight, alongside additional police and public order dogs.

"We will be robust in bringing order to our streets," he said.

Henderson said he will be speaking to health trusts, unions and minority communities.

He said "we should all listen to the words" of the family of victim Stephen Ogilvie after they issued a statement on Wednesday calling for calm.

"They could not be more clear that violence is not in Stephen's name," he said.

"The streets of Northern Ireland need to return to calm and order."

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 told ITV's Good Morning Britain programme 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."

There were also peaceful protests at Stormont Estate and Coleraine.

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".

Wednesday's violence was not to the same extent as Tuesday night but still attracted condemnation.

An 18-year-old man was charged with riot after a petrol bomb injured two police officers at Carrickfergus on Tuesday.

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".