Belfast: "My life is threatened"

This is the second time that a company of Mohammed Idris has been set on fire.

BBC Man with dark hair, black beard and glasses wearing a grey suit jacket and light blue top standing in front of a broken window — This is the second time that a company of Mohammed Idris has been set on fire.

“It’s not easy to stay here, it’s even more for my life and safety. I can’t try again and again with the same result.”

Mohammed Idris, owner of Bash Cafe in south Belfast, has said he will not reopen after his business was set on fire during violent protests.

Unrest breaks out after anti-immigration protest in town on Saturday.

Mr Idris told BBC News NI his businesses had been targeted before, saying his Sandy Row store was targeted last year.

“My computer store was completely destroyed, as was this cafe. This cafe was a place of hope, a place of community. There is no hope here now.”

Mr Idris was in his cafe when his windows were smashed

Furniture and debris burned black in a pile surrounded by walls damaged by black smoke — Mr Idris was in his cafe when his windows were smashed

Recounting the night his cafe was attacked, he says a group of people “shouted my name, ‘Where is Mohammed?’ and then they broke all the windows on the ground floor.”

However, he told BBC News NI the worst happened overnight when his business was set on fire.

“For me, it’s not easy. It’s so hard when they know your name. It’s scary. My life is threatened. A group of people come screaming my name. They’re just people from different areas.”

Bash Cafe on Donegall Road in South Belfast

PA Media image shows Bash Cafe with a hole in the window — Bash Cafe on Donegall Road in South Belfast

Mohammed Idris has lived in Belfast since 2002, but says life here has become “more difficult” in recent years.

“We have to make our life here, but now all our friends, everyone asks: ‘Where do we go now?’

“We come from different countries – there are wars in our countries – what do we do now?”