Kenya High Commision issues safety advisory for Kenyans residing in the UK amid riots

The High Commission urged Kenyans living in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland to remain vigilant and follow local authorities' guidelines.

Kenyan citizens and students living in the UK have also been urged to register with the High Commission through the Mission's website and to contact the embassy in case of an emergency.

Over the weekend, mobs threw bricks and flares, attacked police, burned and looted shops, smashed car and home windows, and targeted at least two hotels housing asylum seekers in several cities.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called an emergency meeting of ministers and police chiefs on Monday to address the unrest.

The government will "ramp up criminal justice" to ensure that "sanctions are swift", Starmer told the media after Monday's meeting.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said 378 people had so far been arrested and that others would be "brought to justice".

Clashes broke out in Southport on Wednesday, the day after three young girls were killed and five more children critically injured during the knife attack there.

False rumours initially spread on social media saying the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.

The suspect was later identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales. UK media reported that his parents are from Rwanda, which has very few Muslims.

That has not stopped mosques from being targeted by rioters.

The government has offered new emergency security to Islamic places of worship.

In Burnley, northwest England, a hate crime investigation was underway after gravestones in a Muslim section of a cemetery were vandalised with grey paint.

"What type of evil individual(s) would undertake such outrageous actions, in a sacrosanct place of reflection, where loved ones are buried, solely intended to provoke racial tensions?", local councillor Afrasiab Anwar said.

The prime minister warned rioters on Sunday that they would "regret" participating in England's worst disorder in 13 years.

Interior minister Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Monday that "there will be a reckoning".

Cooper also said that social media put a "rocket booster" under the violence.

Starmer stressed that "criminal law applies online as well as offline".

On Tuesday, Alexander criticised Elon Musk, owner of X, after he claimed "civil war" in the UK was "inevitable".

"I think it is deeply irresponsible. I think everyone should be appealing for calm," she said.

Police have blamed the violence on people associated with the now-defunct English Defence League, a far-right Islamophobic organisation founded 15 years ago, whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.

The rallies have been advertised on far-right social media channels under the banner "Enough is enough".

With additional reporting from AFP.