On August 4, 2024, Rotherham, England, riot police drove away anti-immigration protesters outside
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Five countries have now issued travel and safety warnings to citizens living in or visiting the UK as riots and street disturbances continue to plague the UK.
The United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia have all warned their citizens traveling to or living in the UK that there are now serious security risks in parts of the country, as unrest initially sparked by anti-immigration protests continue to spread across England, Northern Ireland .
Violent street riots were seen in many towns and cities last week, including tourist hubs Liverpool and Manchester, with far-right groups clashing with police and rival demonstrators.
Unrest continued in parts of the UK on Monday night, with further unrest in Belfast in Northern Ireland, the northern town of Darlington and Plymouth on the south coast. The National Police Chiefs’ Council said on Monday that 378 people had been arrested since the unrest began a week ago on Tuesday.
There were other incidents of unrest across the country, from towns such as Rotherham and Middlesbrough to larger cities such as Bristol, Leeds and Hull. London, a tourist hotspot, has yet to see any major riots.
Thick smoke rises from a fire started by protesters during a riot near the Southport Islamic Society mosque in Southport, northwest England, on July 30, 2024, a day after a fatal knife attack on a child.
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The UAE’s foreign ministry on Monday urged its citizens in the UK “to exercise the highest degree of caution and take necessary precautions given the precarious security situation in several UK cities”. , and avoid crowded areas.
Australia issued a travel advisory on Monday, warning its citizens to “avoid travel to areas where protests are taking place due to the potential for chaos and violence”, while Malaysia told its nationals not to travel to the UK
Nigeria said the unrest “took on a violent and disorderly aspect” and “could spread across the country”. It warned citizens “to be extra vigilant, stay away from protest areas and avoid large gatherings”.
On August 4, 2024, in Rotherham, England, a riot broke out outside the Holiday Inn Express Manvers, which was believed to be being used as a shelter hotel.
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The riots and street violence began last week after false claims circulated online that a mass stabbing last Monday in which three young girls were killed was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat.
Riots and riots broke out in many towns after the attacks, with large crowds chanting racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim slogans, vandalizing buildings, looting and clashing with riot police and counter-protesting groups of locals.
A protester holds a placard against anti-immigration supporters at a solidarity rally against racism. Protests and riots broke out across the country following a knife attack in Southport earlier this week.
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In the worst cases of violent unrest, shops and mosques were attacked and bricks and petrol bombs were thrown. A fire has broken out at a hotel in Rotherham which rioters believed was housing asylum seekers.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the violence as a “far-right outrage”, while the country’s former counter-terrorism policing chief Neil Basu said on Monday that some of the violence during the riots had “beyond terror” the limits of doctrine”.
The government pledged to increase police numbers and said it would immediately suppress the unrest, adding that anyone involved would be dealt with immediately by the country’s criminal justice system. We are also preparing to set up more than 500 additional prison facilities to detain suspected rioters.
Members of the local community help clear debris from the streets of Middlesbrough, northeast England, on August 5, 2024, following rioting and looting the previous day. British leader Keir Starmer warned far-right protesters on Sunday they would “regret” their involvement in England’s worst riots in 13 years, as unrest linked to the murder of three children broke out across the country earlier this week .
Li Yelin | AFP | Getty Images
The unrest also brought affected communities together for counter-protests and community clean-ups. Many locals condemned those involved in the riots, saying they did not represent their communities.
The underlying causes of the violence pose a challenge to Britain’s new Labor government, and ongoing social debates on immigration and social cohesion are likely to be addressed once the unrest subsides.
