N.Ireland anti-Islam loyalist bonfire condemned as 'hate' offence

Northern Irish police arrested a man on Thursday after a replica mosque was placed on a bonfire in an anti-Islam stunt in the village of Moygashel in the UK province.

Bonfires made up of wooden pallets are lit across Northern Ireland every year in the run-up to Orange Order traditional parades on July 12 that mark a Protestant victory over Catholics in 1690.

Some of the pyres spark controversy as Irish flags, effigies, anti-Catholic and anti-immigration signs are often placed on the bonfires before they are set alight.

"A 56-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of contravention of (public order legislation)," said a police statement.

Signs saying "Secure our borders" and "End the threat of radical Islam" have also been placed on the pyre in Moygashel, some 40 miles (65 kilometres) west of Belfast.

The lettering "Islamic fascism" also appears on the model of the mosque, as well as a mannequin dressed as a terrorist.

In a post on social media the bonfire organisers said that the displays were "an act of political protest" against "mass illegal immigration and a failure to deport foreign criminals who have come here unlawfully".

It warned police against trying to "invade the area" to remove the effigy.

In a later statement police said it is treating the display as "a hate-motivated criminal offence" and that "we continue to assess the situation".

London's minister for the province Hilary Benn called the bonfire display "a sickening and cowardly act of intimidation".

"We must stand united and completely reject such hatred," Benn said in a social media post.

Rights group Amnesty International called the stunt  "vile" and a "blatant attempt to stir up anti-Muslim hatred and intimidate local families".

Last year, politicians condemned the same bonfire site after an effigy of migrants in a boat along with a "Stop the Boats" banner was placed on it.

Northern Ireland has been rocked in recent weeks by anti-immigration violence mainly in pro-British areas following a knife attack by a Sudanese asylum seeker.

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© Agence France-Presse