Nineteen now arrested over disorder with house targeted in arson

Nineteen individuals, including a 16-year-old boy, have been arrested following several days of unrest across Northern Ireland, which included an arson attack on a house in north Belfast. Police also reported instances of race-hate graffiti in east Belfast.

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Their houses are gone, their cars are gone, their windows are smashed.

The violence erupted after footage of a knife attack on Monday night was widely circulated on social media. Hadi Alodid, 30, from Sudan, has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the knife attack. Police confirmed that 12 officers were injured and 16 people were arrested during Wednesday night's disturbances.

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We're in a WhatsApp group and there are messages floating that a certain family has been made homeless overnight and they were a family with small kids.

Community leaders have voiced concerns about the impact of the violence on the region's diverse population. Dr. Mukesh Chugh, a leading member of the Indian community, shared that some overseas healthcare professionals are now reconsidering their decision to work in Northern Ireland. "We hear especially from people who come from different nations and people of different colour - their houses are gone, their cars are gone, their windows are smashed," he told BBC Radio Foyle.

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I believe that people are anxious, people are in fear and they need reassurance at this point.

Dr. Chugh added that messages circulate within a WhatsApp group detailing families, including those with small children, being made homeless overnight. He emphasized that people are anxious and in fear, requiring reassurance. Pastor Jack McKee, who assisted families affected by the violence, described encountering traumatized care workers who struggled to get help for hours during the unrest.

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One of them had been lying on the floor for quite some time and they'd been trying to get help for like four hours.