Ugly scenes on Belfast streets tap into simmering rage of a fed up public

June 11, 2026 — 11:55am

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Belfast: The protester points at me as he strides toward the battle lines in the second night of unrest on the streets in and around Belfast.

“Put that phone away,” he yells. Then he walks on with a handful of other men to confront a line of police at the end of the street.

I know why he is nervous about the photographs and video I am taking of the crowd facing the police, who are using riot shields, armoured vehicles and water cannons to gradually take control of the street.

Every image carries a risk in this clash between authorities and agitators over migration. The protesters are setting up confrontations that guarantee media attention and galvanise supporters, but the police are watching every move.

The police may not arrest a protester in the thick of the action, but they can do so the following day after identifying people using public images of the gatherings.

The leaders of this anti-immigrant movement are alive to the risk. “Do not publish any footage showing the faces of [Northern Ireland] patriots!” said one of them, Danny Tommo, on the eve of this protest. “Have we learned nothing from this week?”

This captures the two sides of the revolt. The........

© The Sydney Morning Herald