2023-11-23 23:27:00
Dublin (AFP) – Violent clashes broke out in Dublin on Thursday evening, which the far right was accused of causing, and followed a knife attack in the middle of the day that injured several people, including three children, and in which police ruled out any terrorist motive.
Published on: 11/24/2023 – 00:27
3 minutes
During these clashes, several vehicles were set on fire, including a police car and a bus, and stores were looted, according to an Agence France-Presse journalist.
During these incidents, which were considered the first of their kind in several years and in which thousands participated, according to the same source, Irish flags and banners were raised with the phrase “Irish Lives Matter” written on them.
The clashes broke out in a neighborhood inhabited by immigrants, against the backdrop of rumors regarding the origins of the alleged perpetrator of the knife attack, who police said was a man in his fifties, who was later taken to hospital.
Security forces were targeted with projectiles thrown by a crowd that also expressed its hostility to the “mainstream media.”
At approximately 22:00 (local time and GMT), police said that the streets of Dublin city center were now “mostly quiet.”
“We will not tolerate a few using horrific facts to sow division,” Justice Minister Helen McEntee said in a statement, calling for “calm.”
She also warned that attacks on the police would be dealt with “rigorously,” stressing the need to “condemn them.”
Rumors
Demonstrators in Dublin burned a car and clashed with police officers, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent, after three children were injured in a stabbing incident near a school, which rumors on social media attributed to a foreigner.
A five-year-old girl was seriously injured, and four people, including two children, were taken to hospital following the incident that occurred at noon near a primary school in central Dublin.
Hundreds of Irish people took to the streets after rumors spread about the attacker’s nationality, and some of them clashed with the police and attacked their cars, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent.
Police Chief Drew Harris blamed a “completely insane faction driven by far-right ideology” for the chaos, warning of the spread of “misinformation.”
He added that several police cars were damaged, and video footage showed one of the cars catching fire.
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced the arrest of a suspect, while police said they were “following a specific line of investigation.”
“Five injured people were transferred to various hospitals in the Dublin area,” police said in a statement.
She explained that “among those injured were an adult man and woman and three young children.”
She added that a girl was seriously injured, while the other two children were being treated for less serious injuries.
The statement confirmed that the police were “investigating all possibilities” regarding what it described as a “serious incident related to public order” that occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m.
The police are communicating with the families of the three children.
Local police official Liam Geraghty announced in a press conference that the police were not looking for “anyone else,” stressing that investigators had ruled out any “terrorist” motive in light of the first elements of the investigation.
Varadkar said he was shocked by the incident that occurred in front of a primary school, according to local media.
He added in a statement, “The emergency services responded quickly and arrived at the scene within minutes, and I thank them for that.”
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