hate crime

A woman and several young children were in the house at the time of the attack.

POLICE IN BELFAST have arrested two men after a racially motivated attack on a home with children inside in southern area of the city in the early hours of this morning.

The PSNI said a group of men approached a house in the Donegall Avenue area shortly before 1.10am, shouting aggressively before confronting residents inside the property.

Officers said it is believed a number of weapons were used during the attack, which also left a car parked outside damaged.

A woman and several young children were inside the house at the time. Two people were injured, while police have confirmed the incident is being treated as a racially motivated hate crime.

Two men, aged in their 20s and 40s, were arrested on suspicion of a number of related offences and remain in custody.

Police have appealed for witnesses or anyone with CCTV or doorbell footage to come forward.

The attack comes after several days of unrest and anti-racism demonstrations in Belfast earlier this week, following a serious knife attack on Monday that sparked riots and a series of racially motivated incidents across the city.

19 people were arrested in connection with the riots.

Police said their enquiries into the incident in south Belfast are ongoing.

Two arrested after racially motivated attack on Belfast home