Renewed sectarian attacks on Londonderry's Fountain Estate have drawn criticism from a local councillor, who has accused anti-racism campaigners of selective condemnation and called for consistent policing.

On Saturday evening, police arrested five male youths aged 13 to 16 after stones were thrown into the predominantly Protestant estate. Items including a golf club were seized. One teenager was charged with riotous behaviour, while three others were released pending reports to the Public Prosecution Service and one was released unconditionally. The Police Service of Northern Ireland initially described the disorder as sectarian motivated but later amended the classification to a hate crime when questioned.

Alderman Darren Guy said the weekend violence was part of a pattern of organised attacks. He cited an incident on Wednesday evening in which a young man walking home in the Fountain was struck in the jaw with an iron bar by a person on an e-bike, breaking two teeth. On Saturday night, parents brought their children indoors and a car windscreen was smashed with a fire extinguisher on Hawkins Street.

Mr Guy criticised Saturday's anti-racism rally in Londonderry, noting that its organisers and speakers did not reference the persistent sectarian hate crimes against the Fountain Estate that have occurred since spring. He said there is a perception in the area that campaigners are selective in what they condemn, making any condemnation ring hollow. The councillor added that a Protestant friend who attended the rally was verbally abused by a man in a republican hooded top.

Turning to policing, Mr Guy argued that if the PSNI has been publishing photographs of suspects from recent riots in Newtownabbey, it should do the same for the regular disorder at the Fountain interface. He stated that people do not randomly carry golf clubs through the streets, suggesting the attacks are premeditated.

SDLP Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said the attacks are wrong and repeated his party's call for the community to be allowed to live in peace. He stressed that dealing with such issues requires leadership and that no community should feel at risk of repeated attack. Sinn Fein did not respond to a request for comment.

The disorder took place against a backdrop of wider tensions, with a knife attack in north Belfast last Monday having sparked a wave of racist mob violence across Northern Ireland. The alleged attacker is a Sudanese national.