Antimigrant Demonstration Expands In UK In The Aftermath Of Child Murder Hoaxes, Protests In Sunderland Ended In Clashes

UNSPLASH/ev ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Protesters attacked police in the British city of Sunderland on Friday, August 2, when protests led to clashes spreading to other northern cities following the killing of three children in Southport.

Anti-immigrant demonstrators threw stones at police wearing antihuru-hara gear near a mosque in the city before turning the vehicle around, burning cars and lighting fires beside the police station, the BBC said.

"Public safety is our top priority and when we learned that the protests had been planned, we made sure there was an increase in police presence in the city," Reuters reported on Saturday, August 3.

"Throughout the night, the officers experienced serious and sustainable violence, which was very sad," he added.

Three police officers were taken to hospital for treatment, and eight people were arrested for offenses such as violence and robbery.

Demonstrations in Sunderland are one of dozens of demonstrations planned by anti-immigrant protesters across the UK this weekend, including around at least two mosques in Liverpool, the nearby town where the children were killed.

Several anti-racism retaliatory protests were also planned. British police were deployed on Friday across areas and mosques tightened security.

Previously, a 17-year-old boy was charged with killing three children in a knife attack at Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in the northwestern town of Southport.

Incidents of violence erupted in the following days in Southport, the northeastern city of Hartlepool, and London in reaction to false information on social media claiming the suspect in the stabbing was a radical Islam migrant.

In an effort to reduce misinformation, the police confirmed that the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, was born in England.