Violence erupts in Belfast as man charged over knife attack

Violence erupts in Belfast as man charged over knife attack7 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAuryn CoxandAngus Harron,BBC News NIPA MediaCars and houses set on fire in Lendrick Street in east BelfastPeople have been forced to flee their homes in Belfast amid disorder following a knife attack on Monday night. Houses and cars have been set on fire and all public transport has been been paused in the city.A 30-year-old Sudanese man is due to appear in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder following the attack in north Belfast.He has also been charged with possession of an article with blade in a public place and threats to kill.A man in his 40s remains in hospital with serious injuries to his eyes, neck and back after the attack in Kinnaird Avenue at about 22:30 BST.A video widely circulated online showed a number of people, including one wielding a hurling stick, confront the apparent attacker until police officers arrived.The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have called for calm as "sporadic pockets of disorder" have broken out across Northern Ireland in response to the attack.PA MediaA family are being rescued from houses which caught fire in Lendrick Street in east BelfastPeople have gathered at areas including Londonderry, Antrim, Newtownabbey, Ballymena, Bangor and Belfast.Some protests passed peacefully but there has been violence in a number of areas."Cars were set alight on the road, which caught fire to my house but masked men were bashing down doors," a resident in Lendrick Street, in east Belfast, told BBC News NI.A group of about 100 masked people are at the Newtownards Road in east Belfast where they have kicked in doors and broken windows.On the same road a bin and bus were set on fire.A Translink spokesperson said all its bus services operating in and out of Belfast have been suspended. "We utterly condemn this attack on our service," they added.Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, Jon Burro...