Police unleashed water cannons on hundreds of protesters in a second night of riots in Belfast over migration, hours after a Sudanese asylum seeker appeared in court over a shocking stabbing attack likened to an attempted beheading.

Men in black masks lit fires in the street and hurled bricks at police, trying to force their way to the Chimney Corner Hotel, which houses asylum seekers. Police formed a line of armoured vehicles and deployed water cannons to push them back, preventing a repeat of the first night when anti-immigrant groups set fire to migrant homes.

Hundreds of local residents in the Glengormley and Newtownabbey district stood behind the protesters on Wednesday night, defying calls from political leaders and police to stay home. In central Belfast, residents took to the streets where rioters had set a public bus alight and torched private homes the previous night, but they didn't repeat the mayhem.

The family of Stephen Ogilvie, the stabbing victim, issued a statement pleading for calm. Ogilvie is in hospital after losing his left eye and suffering severe damage to his right eye, as well as deep cuts to his face and back.

“We are completely devastated by the horrific attack on our loved one on Kinnaird Avenue,” they said. “This has been a massive shock to our whole family, and right now, our only priority is being at his bedside and helping him recover.”

The family made clear they don't want the attack used to divide people or fuel hostility. “We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work,” their statement read.

Police charged Hadi Alodid, 30, a Sudanese asylum seeker, with attempted murder after the assault on Monday night. He appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning and was refused bail. The court heard he allegedly threatened to kill a National Health Service radiographer. He's due in court again on July 8.

Conservative politicians including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Restore leader Rupert Lowe seized on the events to step up calls for halting migration and deporting migrants already settled in the UK. They expressed outrage that Alodid had entered the UK by travelling from Sudan to France, then flying from Paris to Dublin, before catching a bus to Belfast — taking advantage of the lack of border checks between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher called the Tuesday night riots an “act of self-harm” and revealed he'd called in help from other police forces to prepare for further protests. “This disorder is an insult to the victim of this assault, an insult to the members of the public who bravely stepped forward to save his life and the officers who rushed to the scene,” he said.

Police have charged a 39-year-old man with rioting and a 42-year-old with rioting, attempted criminal damage and assault on a police officer from the first night of unrest.