BELFAST: Northern Ireland police appealed for calm on Tuesday after a stabbing in Belfast by a Sudanese suspect, captured in a graphic video, prompted calls for anti-immigration protests from UK far-right figures.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) vowed to increase its presence on the UK province’s streets after footage of Monday night’s incident shared online drew shock, condemnation and demands for immediate demonstrations on Tuesday evening.

Tensions have already been heightened in Britain following violent skirmishes last week in Southampton, southern England, over the police handling of the murder of a young white student stabbed to death by a British Sikh man.

The video from Belfast shows a man straddling another man lying in a street and slashing him several times in the head and neck with a knife, in what far-right figures claimed was an attempted beheading. Several people can then be seen intervening and tackling the perpetrator, as police arrive.

The PSNI said the man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder was in his 30s, Sudanese and in the UK legally, after initially disclosing he was believed to be Somali.

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the force had “no information to suggest that this was a terrorist-related incident,” stressing the investigation was still in its infancy.

The victim, a man in his 40s, “was taken to hospital with significant injuries to his eyes and serious slash wound injuries to his back and face,” he told a press briefing.

Officers recovered what is believed to be a kitchen knife at the scene, Hender­son confirmed.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2026