In a sharp contrast to the festive scenes in Mexico, Northern Ireland descended into serious civil unrest. Police fired 17 plastic bullets as race riots erupted, with crowds hurling rocks, petrol bombs, and other projectiles at officers, The Guardian reported.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) received reinforcements from Great Britain to contain the violence, which drew widespread condemnation. The disturbances, which began on Tuesday, represented some of the worst public disorder in the region in recent memory, reviving painful echoes of Northern Ireland’s troubled past — now with a different, racially charged dimension.
