2023-05-23 08:52:23
At least two cars were set on fire and police were pelted with stones after a traffic accident Monday night in the Welsh capital Cardiff turned into what officials described as “widespread mayhem”.
Security forces were called to the scene of the crash on Snowden Road in the Ely area just after 6 p.m. Monday. Scenes broadcast live on YouTube showed dozens of people, many wearing hoods or ski masks, walking around, while others hurled and fired firecrackers at police forces in riot gear.
At 8:21pm local time, South Wales Police urged people to leave the area and tweeted, “There are now a large number of officers working to calm the ongoing disturbances at the scene.”
An hour later, the police said that emergency forces were still at the scene and stressed the need for citizens to move away from the area. “Please avoid speculation – we will update you as soon as possible – all our updates must be factual,” the police added.
At 11:15pm, South Wales Police issued another update confirming that officers were still at the scene to combat “widespread disorder” and again urged people to leave the area.
A fire is blazing and a helicopter is heard flying overhead. Shortly before midnight, one car caught fire and was burned, while a second car overturned and caught fire.
At 1:10 am, the police posted a tweet announcing the arrest of a number of rioters.
A police commander at the scene said that the rioters suspected one of the individuals to be an undercover officer and attacked him.
Police, including soldiers on horseback, were seen outside Ely Police Station in the early hours of Tuesday after hints they might be targeted.
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