Portugal Colonial - Migrants hid in wardrobes to flee N.Ireland unrest: police

"Stop this violence," said Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher. "We will come after you. We will arrest you. We will prosecute you successfully."

He was speaking after three nights of unrest in the town of Ballymena, some 30 miles (48 kilometres) northwest of Belfast.

The clashes erupted on Monday night after two teenagers were arrested for the alleged attempted rape of a young girl at the weekend.

Police have not confirmed the ethnicity of the teenagers, who remain in custody and had asked for a Romanian interpreter in court.

After another barrage of petrol bombs, bricks and bottles, the crowds eventually dispersed late Wednesday without a repeat of the chaotic scenes seen on Monday and Tuesday when houses and businesses in areas where Romanian families live were torched.

A total of 13 people have now been arrested, and 41 police officers injured, though most of the injuries are not severe.

Three teenage boys aged 15, 17 and 18 were due to appear in court on Thursday having been charged with rioting, said police.

Boutcher described the riots as "wanton, disgraceful criminal behaviour that is absolutely race motivated", speaking at a news conference Thursday.

Police had helped evacuate foreign national families hiding in attics and wardrobes in their homes "even though they had done nothing wrong", he said.

"They are not criminals. They contribute positively to society here and are well integrated," he added.

Clonavon Road, where most of the riots happened in a neighbourhood known for having a large population of eastern Europeans, was almost deserted on Thursday.

Many of the houses were damaged, and British, English or Northern Irish flags hung from most windows, AFP reporters saw. Some had signs saying they were Filipino residents.

- 'Terrible scenes' -

But there were fears Thursday that the violence might spread. One housing association in Portadown, 47 miles (76 kilometres) southwest of Ballymena, called on residents to leave and take measures to protect their property.

In a letter to its residents, Arbour Housing said a Thursday demonstration in the town had been "directed towards migrants, foreign nationals, and what are perceived as deviant behaviour," the BBC reported.

Residents should take measures to "secure your property and belongings", it added.

Ministers from every party in the province's power-sharing executive strongly condemned "the racially motivated violence witnessed in recent days", while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the "mindless violence".

The UK's Northern Ireland minister Hilary Benn, who visited Ballymena on Thursday, said he "utterly condemned the terrible scenes of civil disorder".

Police called the violence "racist thuggery", deployed riot officers with dogs and asked forces in England and Wales for help quelling the unrest.

Political commentator Alex Kane, a former Ulster Unionist Party communications chief, told AFP "most of those involved in the rioting... were from the working-class loyalist community" who support Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK.

"This is a demographic which feels left behind" by various political and social forces, he added.

"An unsettled community, particularly when it is mostly composed of the young, is often quick to anger and easy to mobilise on the street. It's a problem which won't disappear any time soon," he warned.

While acknowledging the protests were a "bit extreme", college student Lee Stewart described them as necessary "to defend our own people".

"We view it as the police aren't doing anything to stop what is going on to those poor wee girls," Stewart, 18, said.

L.Mesquita--PC