TWO boys aged 12 and 14 have been attacked by a gang of up to five males in north Belfast, police said last night.
The children were struck in the face and kicked in the leg during the assault in the Limestone Road area on Wednesday night.
Police are investigating and said they are treating the assault on the boys as a "hate crime".
PSNI Inspector Paul Noble said: "It was reported that five males, possibly in their teens, were involved in the incident which took place in the Limestone Road area, sometime between 5pm and 8.30pm.
"The 12-year-old boy sustained two black eyes and a swollen lip while the 14-year-old boy received a punch to the face and was kicked in the leg.
"An investigation into the incident, which is being treated as a hate crime, is ongoing.
"We are appealing for any witnesses, or anyone with any information that could help, to contact us on the non-emergency number 101."
It comes as the Lower North Belfast Concerned Residents said a 12-year-old boy, who has some learning difficulties, was the victim of a "planned vicious assault".
The post said the child was walking through Alexandra Park when he saw a group of older males who then "pursued" him and asked him his religion.
It also said "when the perpetrators discovered he was a Protestant.... (he) was set upon by the crowd of older males, who engaged in frenzied, sustained assault on the young boy".
The association also claimed the boy was "shown, what he described as a 'metal object, like a blade or a knife' and was told he was going to be stabbed" before he was able to break free with the intervention of a passerby.
It was unclear last night if it the same attack that police are investigating involving a 12-year-old boy.
