Belfast anti-immigration violence after knife attack keeps residents on edge

Sudanese man Hadi Alodid appeared in court over the stabbing that sparked unrest and torching of homes and vehicles

A 30-year-old man from Sudan appeared in a Belfast court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over a stabbing attack that left a victim seriously injured and triggered anti-immigrant violence in several parts of Northern Ireland.

Hadi Alodid, 30, was ordered held in jail after an appearance by video in Belfast Magistrates’ Court, where a detective said he blinded Stephen Ogilvie in the left eye during the knife attack. He was also charged with possessing a knife and threatening to kill a radiographer while being treated for a hand injury after the assault.

When police arrived at the crime scene, they found Alodid on the man, armed with a kitchen knife, the detective said. Alodid later told hospital staff: “I’ve killed someone, I don’t know if they are dead”, and said, “I will kill you.”

He refused legal representation through an Arabic interpreter and did not enter a plea.

The court appearance followed a night of violence in which masked men set fire to several homes they believed to house immigrants, burned trash bins, torched a Belfast bus and pelted police with objects. Firefighters rescued several people from burning homes.

Anselme Shima, a Belfast resident originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said he saw smoke from burning vehicles near his home.