Far-right rioters torch car, surround mosque in Sunderland as more violence erupts in UK

LONDON

Far-right riots in Sunderland saw groups clashing with police in Sunderland on Friday following a fatal knife attack in Southport earlier this week, according to media reports.

Tension erupted as stones and beer cans were thrown at police in riot gear outside a mosque on St Mark’s Road.

The violence escalated as mounted officers attempted to push back demonstrators, some of whom wore masks.

Northumbria Police advised the public to avoid the area as beer barrels were also hurled at officers.

Demonstrators chanted: “Whose streets, our streets” as unrest spread throughout the city.

Cars in Sunderland’s city center were targeted, with one vehicle overturned and set on fire in a further display of disorder.

The unrest follows riots in Hartlepool late Wednesday, which Cleveland Police have linked to protests surrounding the Southport attack that resulted in the deaths of three children in Merseyside on Monday.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness expressed dismay at the violence.

“Make no mistake, if your response to tragedy is to use it to commit violence, to abuse others, attack the police, and damage property, you stand for nothing except thuggery,” she said. “You don’t speak for Sunderland. You don’t speak for this region.”

Simultaneously, a crowd of 200 anti-racist protesters gathered outside the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool, following rumors of a far-right protest.

The group chanted: “Say it loud, say it clear: Refugees are welcome here.”

Police across the country have been urged to protect mosques and accommodations for asylum seekers as the nation

braces for at least 19 far-right rallies in the coming days.

The call for increased security from community leaders follows violent demonstrations that have spread from Southport to cities, including London, Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot after the fatal stabbings at a children’s holiday club.

The unrest intensified as unfounded online rumors falsely claimed the suspect in the murders was Muslim, leading to attacks on mosques in Southport and Hartlepool on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The suspect was identified Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, 17.

The demonstrations also saw accommodations for asylum seekers in Manchester and Aldershot targeted by protesters brandishing placards with messages that read: “Deport them, don’t support them” and “No apartments for illegals.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened an emergency meeting Thursday with police leaders at Downing Street in response to the disorder in several towns across the country following the stabbings and announced the formation of a new national violent disorder unit.

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