Cars were also set alight in the capital Belfast, in incidents described by police as racially motivated hate crimes LONDON: The First Minister of Northern Ireland and her deputy have condemned an attack on a mosque in County Down and Saturday’s violence in Londonderry. The mosque in Newtownards was attacked in the early hours of Saturday, with its front door and walls sprayed with graffiti and an unignited petrol bomb thrown at it. Cars were set alight in the capital Belfast, in incidents described by police as racially motivated hate crimes. Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly said the violence was “wrong, unacceptable and rejected” by the vast majority of the community. In a joint statement, they said: “They are disgraceful manifestations of criminality and have absolutely no justification.” They continued: “Our thoughts are with those Police Service of Northern Ireland officers injured last night and the victims of recent racist attacks. This senseless violence and intimidation has no place in our society and we would appeal for calm. “Those responsible should be quickly brought before the courts and we urge anyone with information to provide it to the PSNI.” The violence mirrored disorder across England last week, spurred by misinformation spread on social media about the suspected perpetrator of a knife attack in Southport on July 29 which killed three children. The PSNI said 31 people have been arrested following the disturbances. “They burned every single thing, there is nothing left inside, just ashes,” Bashir, whose supermarket in Belfast was torched during attacks against foreign-owned shops and businesses, told AFP. “We are scared at what may happen next, there is lots of hostility against the Muslim community,” said the 28-year-old from Dubai, who did not want to give his full name citing safety reasons.