Anti-immigration signs put up in west Belfast are being treated as a hate incident, police have said.
A sign which appeared in the Tildarg Avenue area said the community “will no longer accept the re-housing of illegal immigrants”.
The poster also used an offensive term while referring to “other communities”.
Graffiti reading ‘Irish lives matter’ was also spray-painted overnight on the wall of the Kennedy Centre on the Falls Road.
Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit said there was “no place in our society for this kind of racist poison”.
“We are under no illusion that ‘Irish Lives Matter’ is a racist slogan which is in direct opposition to movements against the oppression of black people and other ethnic minorities,” he said.
Sinn Féin assembly member Paul Maskey described the signs as “disgraceful”, adding that they had been erected “in an attempt to create fear and intimidate people”.
“Political and community leaders must stand together to continue to build a safe, welcoming and inclusive society for all,” he said.
Grainia Long, chief executive of the Housing Executive, said the organisation did not believe such incidents “reflect the values of the local community”.
“All of our housing allocations will continue to be made in accordance with the rules of the Joint Housing Selection Scheme,” she said.
Earlier this month, similar signs were put up on the Belvoir estate in south Belfast.
Anyone with information about the erection of the signs has been asked to contact police.
