Man arrested over mosque effigy on loyalist bonfire in Northern Ireland

Northern Irish police arrested a man on Thursday after a replica mosque was placed on a bonfire in an anti-Islam stunt in a village.

Bonfires made up of wooden pallets are lit across Northern Ireland every year in the run-up to Orange Order traditional parades on July 12 that mark a Protestant victory over Catholics in 1690.

Some of the pyres spark controversy as Irish flags, effigies, anti-Catholic and anti-immigration signs are often placed on the bonfires before they are set alight.

"Police are aware of the item placed on top of the bonfire in Moygashel," a police statement said. "A 56-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of contravention of (public order legislation)."

Signs saying "Secure our borders" and "End the threat of radical Islam" have also been placed on the pyre in Moygashel, some 40 miles (65 kilometres) west of Belfast.

The lettering "Islamic fascism" also appears on the model of the mosque.

Rights group Amnesty International said Thursday that the bonfire display was "vile" and a "blatant attempt to stir up anti-Muslim hatred and intimidate local families".

Last year, politicians condemned the same bonfire site after an effigy of migrants in a boat along with a "Stop the Boats" banner was placed on it.

Northern Ireland has been rocked in recent weeks by anti-immigration violence mainly in pro-British areas following a knife attack by a Sudanese asylum seeker.