2023-11-24 13:16:42
The violence that occurred Thursday evening in Dublin after a knife attack which left five people injured, including three children, has been unprecedented for “decades,” said the head of the Irish police (Garda) on Friday.
• Read also: Incidents in Dublin after a knife attack which left 5 injured
“What we saw last night was an extraordinary explosion of violence (…) with scenes that we have not seen in decades,” Commissioner Drew Harris said at a press briefing, adding that the police had arrested 34 people.
AFP
For several hours Thursday evening, the streets of central Dublin were the scene of violence and clashes with the police, blamed by the police on the far right, in a neighborhood where there is a particularly immigrant population.
Cars were set on fire, businesses ransacked and looted, while “Irish Lives Matter” signs and Irish flags were waved.
AFP
The police were targeted by projectiles from the rioters.
“Many more arrests will be made” as the investigation progresses, warned Commissioner Drew Harris, adding that he feared further violence.
AFP
“We could not have anticipated” this violence, in response to the knife attack, defended the Garda commissioner, who pointed to an “element of radicalization” among the perpetrators of the unrest, blaming the social networks.
“Far-right groups have exacerbated the situation,” insisted Drew Harris.
AFP
Faced with a housing crisis, the country has recently seen the development, under the influence of far-right figures, of an anti-immigration discourse according to which “Ireland is full”.
A man armed with a knife attacked several people early Thursday afternoon in Dublin, injuring five people, including three young children.
AFP
He was arrested on the spot, and based on the first elements of the investigation, investigators ruled out a terrorist motive.
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