Police in Northern Ireland are bracing for potential fresh clashes in Belfast as rival groups are due to gather outside the city hall.
A police spokesperson promised on Friday a “significant” security operation even though reinforcements from Scotland will not arrive until next week.
An anti-racism rally is scheduled at 4.30pm and an anti-immigration one is expected at 5pm, presenting another challenge for a force overstretched by five consecutive nights of disorder.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable, Jon Boutcher, said 120 officers from Scotland who were trained in public order would arrive next Tuesday to bolster his exhausted force. “The PSNI will deal with this disorder … we will stop it,” he said.
Earlier this week the Police Federation for Northern Ireland said chronic underfunding had left the PSNI at “breaking point”.
Sporadic incidents on Thursday night – bricks thrown at officers, a car set on fire, house windows smashed – were smaller-scale than previous nights, when rioters emulated the disorder in England that erupted after the killing of three girls in Southport.
However, the protests planned on Friday prompted Queen’s University Belfast to close its campus for the day. Some city centre businesses are considering shutting early. On Thursday the police said a purported police statement circulating on social media that urged businesses to close at 2pm was fake.
According to social media channels, anti-immigrant groups plan to return to city hall where a rally last Saturday turned violent, with a breakaway group attacking cafes and shops owned by foreign-born people in the Donegall Road area.
The group United Against Racism and the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance union have organised the counter-protest.
Four men were due to appear in court on Friday in relation to disorder in east Belfast. There have been a total of 22 arrests, with 15 people remanded in custody.
Melanie Jones, an assistant chief constable, urged those who were intent on causing disorder or committing offences to think of the consequences. “Yesterday we issued six images of people we want to speak to in relation to this recent disorder. One individual has since been identified and we thank the public for their assistance with this. Please look at these images and let us know if you can identify any of these individuals.”
She appealed to the public to not let criminals hide in the community. “Anyone with any information which can help identify any of these individuals should contact us.”
The Alliance party lord mayor of Belfast, Micky Murray, said the riots had instilled fear and urged those planning to attend the anti-immigrant rally to stay home. “I hope that we have now witnessed the end of the violence on our streets.”
