A SPECIAL police team set up to tackle attacks on Muslims will help manage the resettlement of 10 families of Syrian refugees in Belfast this month.
A baby born just weeks ago will be among the first group of 51 people due to arrive on December 15.
The Muslim and Christian families will be housed in areas identified as low-risk in north, south and west Belfast, with the north west earmarked for the next batch of arrivals.
The home of a Greek woman in north Belfast this week became the latest target of racists, following attacks recently on the car of an Indian couple and the home of a Muslim man in Co Antrim.
Patrick Yu, of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities, said they are part of a wider upsurge in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis and Paris terror attacks, and called for Stormont to publish a racial equality strategy.
Chief Constable George Hamilton said yesterday police recognised the Paris atrocities "may lead to some people trying to justify attacks against those they perceive to be Muslim".
"We have established a specific Gold Group at this time to monitor attacks of this nature and seek to improve our response to them. This group will also take into account of the impending arrival of refugees from the Syrian conflict, many of whom may be Muslim."
More details of the first group of refugees to be resettled were revealed yesterday, as concern mounts over an "anti-refugee/terrorist" protest planned outside Belfast City hall tomorrow.
The Protestant Coalition announced in the wake of the Paris attacks it would hold the two-hour demonstration, which will be countered by an anti-fascist group.
Protestant Church leaders have urged organisers to reconsider, and First and Deputy First Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness have condemned the protest.
Ian Snowden from the Department of Social Development said yesterday refugees would not be housed in places with a signficant risk of race hate attack.
“We are very confident that the majority in the community will respond positively to this,” he said.
Denise Wright, chair of the Refugee and Asylum Forum, also said there was “a lot of good will” being shown to refugees.
