A Sudanese man charged with attempted murder after the Belfast knife attack served as a policeman in Khartoum, friends have told The Telegraph.

Hadi Alodid is from a prominent north Sudanese family and was followed to the UK by two other brothers who also live in Britain.

The 30-year-old appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with the attempted murder of 44-year-old Stephen Ogilvie, who lost an eye and suffered injuries to his back and head in the attack.

Video of a man holding down and stabbing Mr Ogilvie before bystanders intervened prompted violent anti-immigration protests in Belfast this week.

Family friends told The Telegraph that Alodid was from a large and politically-connected family from the town of Karima. He was born and partly raised in Saudi Arabia, but returned to Sudan for his education.

Azheri Omer said he had been friends with Alodid in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in 2022. Alodid joined the police in Khartoum, but Mr Omer said he had only stayed a few months.

When the country was engulfed in civil war in April 2023, he said the pair decided to head to Europe via Libya, which is a busy migrant-smuggling route.

The friend told The Telegraph by phone from Libya that Alodid had enough money to manage to cross the Mediterranean and reach Paris and then the UK. The friend had remained stranded in Libya because he had no funds.

Alodid’s brothers followed him, according to sources familiar with the family, travelling to Paris, then Dublin and then to the UK. One was said to live in Liverpool, while another was thought to be living in Belfast with Alodid.

Friends of Alodid who said they had been in contact with the family told The Telegraph that family members were refusing to talk about the incident.

‘Notable growth’ in Sudanese migrant numbers

On what grounds exactly Alodid claimed asylum in the UK is not clear. Sudan’s civil war caused 14 million people to flee their homes, including some four million who are thought to have left the country.

The International Organisation for Migration, the UN’s migration body, said earlier this year there had been a “notable growth” in Sudanese migrants and refugees arriving in Europe from 2023 to 2025.

The 2025 figures show 12,684 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe by sea or land in the first 11 months of the year, a 3.3-fold increase compared to the number registered in the same period of 2024.

Osman Mahmoud, a former Sudanese politician with the National Congress Party, said: “This case has been a very big deal in the Sudanese social media. Everyone is afraid to be involved with this case, and we have seen the reaction of the British people against the Sudanese.”