Dublin anti-immigration protests flare up for second night, 2 police officers hospitalised
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Protesters facing a line of police at a demonstration outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Saggart, south-west of Dublin in Ireland on Oct 21.
PHOTO: AFP
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DUBLIN – Two police officers were hospitalised and 23 arrests were made during a second night of violent anti-immigration rioting in Dublin on the night of Oct 22.
Disturbances erupted outside an accommodation centre for international protection applicants in suburban west Dublin.
Masonry missiles and fireworks were thrown at the police, according to a police statement, adding that the disorder was carried out mostly by young adult men and teenagers.
Unrest like this has become increasingly common in the city, replicating similar protests elsewhere in Europe. Anti-immigrant protests swept across Britain in summer after an asylum seeker being housed at a hotel in Essex was charged over sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
Two years ago, riots broke out in the Dublin city centre with protesters clashing with the police, burning vehicles and looting shops.
The arrests were primarily for public order offences, according to a statement by the force called An Garda Siochana in Ireland. Six were arrested the previous night, five of whom were charged.
Two members of the Irish police force were taken to hospital for medical attention on Oct 22, as one was struck on the head by a bottle and the other suffered from an arm injury.
Investigations are ongoing and further updates will be issued on Oct 23, the police press statement added. BLOOMBERG
