Three quarters of Muslims in the UK are very fearful for their safety after riots broke out in the country due to an attack on children in the city of Southport, Sky News reported, citing a survey by the Muslim Women’s Network.
⠀
“About 75 percent (of those surveyed) said they are very worried about their safety now, whereas only 16 percent were worried before the riots,” the TV channel points out.
⠀
About one-fifth of those surveyed said they had experienced hostility following the attack in Southport, the report said.
⠀
At the end of July, mass protests broke out in many UK cities after a 17-year-old teenager attacked children with a knife in Southport. Then three children died, several more children and two adults were taken to the hospital in critical condition.
⠀
The protests escalated into clashes with police and riots after rumors that the perpetrator of the attack was a refugee. It later became known that the attacker was born into a family of migrants from Rwanda. Dozens of police officers were injured during riots organized by supporters of far-right groups. More than a thousand people were detained and hundreds of charges were brought.
⠀
Amid the unrest, the UK government convened the government’s emergency COBRA committee three times. Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to increase police presence on the streets of British cities, speed up criminal proceedings, and prosecute those responsible for inciting unrest on social networks. The Ministry of Justice reported that to counter the violence, an additional 500 places in prisons were freed up and 6 thousand employees of specialized police departments were deployed.
