Dublin

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The Irish Police said on Friday (Nov 24) that they made 34 arrests for rioting in Dublin, adding more protests could follow after five people, including three children, were stabbed in the capital city. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, police guarded looted stores and firefighters cooled down smouldering vehicles in the City Centre early Friday following hours of riots. Police Commissioner Drew Harris said there will be many more arrests.

"We have not seen a public order situation like this before," Commissioner Harris told reporters, adding there would be a very heavy police presence in the city on Friday. 

"I think that we've seen an element of radicalisation. We have seen a group of people who take literally a thimble full of facts and make a bathtub of hateful assumptions and then conduct themselves in a way which is riotous and disruptive to our society," Harris added.

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The stabbing

On Thursday, five people, including three children - two girls aged five and six and a boy aged five- were hospitalised, following a stabbing in the city centre. The adults were a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s.

Also read: Violent clashes erupt, bus set ablaze in Dublin after stabbing incident

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According to Reuters, the five-year-old girl sustained serious injuries and was receiving emergency treatment. The other two children suffered less serious injuries and the boy was discharged from the hospital. The woman and the man were also being treated for serious injuries.

Reuters reported the man was arrested by police who said they were not looking for any other suspect. The man's nationality was not yet known. 

It appeared the man attacked many people after 13.30 GMT Thursday. Police sealed the crime scene shortly before 1800 GMT when a group of around 50 anti-immigrant protesters briefly broke through a police barrier. 

Some shouted "Get them out" and one kicked the wing mirror off a police car. Another was draped in an Irish flag. A larger crowd then began throwing objects and firing fireworks at riot police in helmets and shields, once they were deployed, and the rioting spiralled out of control.

Rioters brought shame on Ireland: PM Varadkar

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday that the rioters who battled police and looted shops in Dublin brought shame to the country.

Describing the rioters as "criminals," Varadkar said, "Those involved brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves.

"They did not do what they did because they wanted to protect Irish people. They did not do it out of any sense of patriotism, however warped.

"They did so because they're filled with hate. They love violence. They love chaos and they love causing pain to others," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)