Far-right protesters target hotel housing asylum seekers in UK

In a city in the UK, hundreds of people gathered in front of a hotel where asylum seekers and irregular migrants were staying, following a call for anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim action by the far-right English Defence League (EDL).

Clashes broke out between protesters and police, with demonstrators throwing stones and bottles at the hotel windows.

Footage shared on social media showed far-right protesters breaking a window on the ground floor of the hotel and attempting to set the building on fire. Police struggled to keep the attackers away from the building.

Protesters threw fire extinguishers and chairs at the building and attempted to block the hotel doors to prevent those inside from leaving. A small fire that broke out in the hotel was extinguished before it could spread.

At the same time, approximately 300 far-right protesters held a march in the city of Middlesbrough. Police intervened against demonstrators who were trying to block the movement of police vehicles, detaining two people. Protesters threw bottles and electronic cigarettes at police dogs and riot squads.

In the city of Bolton, police called for the protests to end and for people not to gather again until 10:00 p.m. local time (00:00 Turkish time). Police were granted powers to prevent protests, conduct searches, and make arrests throughout the city.

These events began after far-right activists escalated violence following a knife attack in the city of Southport. Following the incident, in which a knife-wielding attacker killed 3 children and injured 10 others, 8 of whom were children, far-right groups organized protests by spreading claims that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in the country last year.

Although police announced that the suspect was a 17-year-old male born in Cardiff, far-right groups continued to organize anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant actions. The protests continued with attacks on mosques and police stations across the country. Police detained more than 90 people during the protests held yesterday. Far-right groups have announced that they will organize new protests in many cities in the coming days and next week.

News Source: 12punto