North London On Fire

[Baarqab Qooqay]

 

Riots in the streets in the suburb of Tottenham

Riots have broken out in north London.

Two police cars and a bus was set on fire - then up 300 people protested against the police earlier shot dead a young father.

 

The unrest began in the district of Tottenham, north London, on Saturday evening.

About a hundred people had gathered outside the police station in the district to demonstrate against the police last Thursday, after an incident, shot and killed a young father.

 

The demonstrators demanded justice for the dead 29-year-old Mark Duggan.

But the protests escalated rapidly and more and more people arrived on the scene.

Two police cars and a bus was set on fire in Tottenham High Road. At least one store on fire and several windows will have disintegrated.

[Blessed]

This is at the doorstep of the Somali masjid. Hope our mAryooley made it home safe. God, I can't stand this place, it's effed up justice and crazy ppl...

[Baarqab Qooqay]

Blessed all faraxooz likes the fire and fight place, insha allah they will be save

 

anyhow who was Mark Duggan!! and why the police shoot him!

[Blessed]

M.ark was a local lad, apparently a drug dealer and was killed on Thursday by the police. Many felt that the police aggression was uncalled for.

[Baarqab Qooqay]

allright hope everyone calms down

[Alderman]

..

[N.O.R.F]

Its a real shame. The police actions, the dead man's alleged action, the riots, the media coverage, the blame game between left and right and the lack of progress between police and local communities.

 

It will all be forgotten next week.

 

The UK is in real need of leadership on all fronts.

[Abu-Salman]

I just came accross the BBC News Live crew where I emphasised that there was no animosity but people were just hungry for loot: food, drinks, mobile phones etc and that the police could not protect the banks or supermarkets as they shut themselves inside their station, so we had to look after the Somali shops till late ourselves (a "leftist" spin, true nevertheless).

I just came back, after Isha in the nearby mosque, on time for the shop below our flat, where we resisted looters till our landlord owner came (we were just two at the beginning).

I also remarked to the News crew that the scene was surreal for a EU city and just outside the zone 2 as these things are expected in L.A or Baltimore ghettos etc (was lately reading Obama's "Dreams of my father" etc, so it seemed ironic how things are similar accross the Atlantic).

 

As the night went by and the shops, supermarkets, banks etc were broke into, fires erupted (local post office was still burning in the early morning).

We finally had to deal with the charging riot police and escaped into the flat whose electricity was cut;

eventually, we left and I prayed in the mosque up North in Edmonton after suhur in the adjacent restaurant, coming back after Fajr.

Waking up at around 10, the whole area was still sealed off and the electricity still missing (crimes investigation may last days, reconstruction months) but I again asked permission to leave, coming to this local library.

 

Norf, It is not so much that killing (killings and gangs are routine here, both within Somalis and without), but the human wave hungry for loot (mostly blacks, but with white elements) coupled with the police impotence (their station is just nearby) that marked us;

it started with a small band demonstrating in front of the station but after afur and Isha, it was already mogadishu reenacted just by inner London.

[chubacka]

its amazing how quickly anarchy can take over and how much damage can be caused in such a little time.

[N.O.R.F]

Abu Salman, I know the area quite well. What happened last night was more than just a bunch of people taking advantage of a peaceful protest and lack police presence in other areas.

 

Tensions have been simmering for years. The police through their heavy handedness and harassment had this coming.

 

Residents say the parents of Mark Duggan were not informed of his death by the police. They found out through the media. So they have failed in following their own procedures in naming him before the next of kin have been informed.

 

*whistling an NWA tune*

[Abu-Salman]

^I do not doubt that the police would have reacted more seriously in other areas of the city;

my pitch was about how desperate the crowd seemed for looting food and drinks, as to suggest more fundamentally, that we have reached the same level of breakdown as in L.A or Chicago.

 

I came accross the local police as much more respectuous than say in France where racism and harassment seems more obvious; but then again we do not have the "banlieues"-Bantoustans/inner city divide to quite the same extent and diversity is more apparent here.(and anyway, Somalis have bigger issues than police harassment last to complain about racism).

 

At any rate, the sudden chaos that seemed allowed seems more of an issue than harassment.

[Nina Fox]

North London is a sleepy area. If a riot broke out in my hood, West London, 5-0's wud definately know who they dealing with. Dont start nothing unless you are willing to finish it is what Im saying. Burning a bus and looting their own neighbourhood (psssshhttttt amateurs).

 

*Sowwie Juxa*

[Som@li]

was it the ghetto part of London? needs a new look after the fire

[NASSIR]

I read this live reporting from the Daily Telegraph,

 

These people that I have been listening to as they go past are on their mobile phones, calling their friends, saying, 'when are you getting to Enfield?' Clearly an awful lot of people aren't from this borough.

 

There seems to have been

a very well organised campaign over social media

to try to engineer trouble here in Enfield. It has almost become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

There is no element of injustice that they are here for. They are here quite simply to cause trouble, to hurt local businesses and shops. This is nothing more than illegal criminal behaviour and I just hope that if the police conclude their investigation, that they do make arrests and those that are guilty receive a serious punishment from the courts.

 

20.05 Nick de Bois, Conservative MP for Enfield North, said there is no repeat of last night's violent scenes in the town.

[N.O.R.F]

Hmmm,,,,

 

The Guardian understands that initial ballistics tests on a bullet, found lodged in a police radio worn by an officer during Thursday's incident, suggested it was police issue – and therefore had not been fired by Duggan.