LONDON – Dozens of police officers have been injured in more than a week of unrest in Northern Ireland, where anger over the effects of Brexit on the UK region intersects with crime and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The disturbance highlights the persistent challenges surrounding Britain’s split with the European Union for British and European leaders, who are eager to prevent delicate trade management arrangements between the bloc and its former member state to overthrow a difficult peace in northern Ireland that has ended decades. of violence.
On Thursday, the White House expressed concern about the violence. Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the administration has joined British, Irish and Northern Irish leaders in their calls for calm and reaffirmed US support for “a secure and prosperous Northern Ireland in which all communities have a voice and enjoy the gains to those who have won with difficulty. “
Politicians and analysts in Northern Ireland say night riots in predominantly Protestant areas reflect resentment among pro-British unionists in Northern Ireland over what they see as a series of concessions to Irish nationalists who want the region to break away from the UK. Britain and unite with the Republic of Ireland.
The most important of these are the Brexit-related trade arrangements, which trade unionists risk weakening ties between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, while strengthening the region’s ties with Ireland and the EU.