Effigies of refugees set alight on bonfire condemned in Northern Ireland

A drone view shows a loyalist bonfire pyre is seen with a model effigy of a boat containing mannequins portrayed as migrants in lifejackets with a sign reading "stop the boats", ahead of the pyre being lit as part of the annual loyalist bonfire events marking the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, in Moygashel, Northern Ireland, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

MOYGASHEL, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -A model of refugees in a boat, placed on a bonfire in a pro-British town near Belfast, was set alight on Thursday night, weeks after migrants' homes were attacked nearby.

The display prompted condemnations by politicians across Northern Ireland's political divides, and police said they were investigating it as a hate incident.