For a third consecutive night, violence broke out in parts of Northern Ireland, with masked youths setting fire to a leisure centre on Wednesday evening.
However, the scale of unrest in Ballymena — the epicentre of earlier rioting — was significantly reduced.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of masked individuals clashed with police in Ballymena, a town of 30,000 located about 45 kilometres from Belfast. Rioters torched homes and vehicles, injuring 17 police officers in what authorities described as “racist thuggery”.
The unrest began Monday following the arrest and court appearance of two 14-year-old boys, who have been charged with the serious sexual assault of a teenage girl. The court proceedings were translated via a Romanian interpreter. The boys have denied the charges, according to the BBC.
Police have opened investigations into extensive property damage on Monday and Tuesday, treating the incidents as racially motivated hate crimes.
Ballymena is known to have a sizeable migrant community.
On Wednesday night, smaller groups of masked youths clashed with officers, throwing rocks, fireworks, and petrol bombs. Police responded with armoured vehicles and water cannon for the second night in a row. Five individuals were arrested during Tuesday’s violence.
Both the British and Irish governments, along with local leaders, have condemned the attacks and called for calm.