People with knives and pipes attacked 15 asylum seekers sheltering in tents in Dublin city centre, forcing them to flee.
The attack took place around 11.30 p.m. on Tuesday night, three hours after asylum seekers from Somalia and Palestine set up a makeshift camp on the City Key seafront in the Irish capital, local media reported on Wednesday night.
Tents were cut up and thrown into the River Liffey after the refugees ran to a police station, a local resident who declined to give his name told the Irish Times. He said:
They were in shock, traumatised. One man had his documents thrown into the river.
Police said they had responded to reports of casualties and that investigations were ongoing. Ireland’s Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman said any attack on vulnerable people was “regrettable” and that his officials would endeavour to ensure anyone affected by the incident was housed.
Tensions over immigrants and asylum seekers escalated this week during a protest against a 500-person accommodation site in Coolock, north Dublin. Some demonstrators carried placards saying “Irish lives matter” and fought with police and security guards outside the former Crown Paints factory.
The unrest intensified when agitators, some wearing masks, set fire to machinery and threw stones, bottles and fireworks at police. A security guard was carried away on a stretcher and several police vehicles were damaged. At least 19 people were charged with disorderly behaviour.
