The mother, who moved to Waterford in January with her family, reported the incident to the Garda. While she doesn’t want the young boys to be punished, she called for counselling and intervention.

Ireland: In a disturbing incident that raised concerns over rising racist attacks in Ireland, a six-year-old girl of Indian-origin was physically assaulted by a group of teenagers while playing outside her home in Waterford City.

According to reports, the attackers hurled racial slurs at her, including "Go back to India", and one of them even hit her in the private parts using a bicycle wheel. The assault took place on the evening of August 4, moments before her mother had stepped inside to tend to her infant son.

Here's What Happened

As per a report by , the little girl had been playing with her friends in front of her house in the city's Kilbarry area when she was targeted by a mob of boys aged between 12 to 14 and a girl around eight. Her mother, a nurse who moved from Kottayam, Kerala to Ireland eight years ago and recently became an Irish citizen, said that her daughter came back in tears, "unable to speak from fear".

"She was very upset, she started crying. She couldn’t even talk, she was so scared," the mother told the publication. A friend of her daughter explained that five boys punched her, one hit her in the private parts with a bicycle, and others twisted her hair and punched her neck. The attackers also used abusive language and told her, "Dirty Indian, go back to India."

"She cried in bed after the attack. Now she’s afraid to go out to play," the mother added.

'We Don't Feel Safe Anymore': Mother

The mother, who moved to Waterford in January with her family, reported the incident to the Garda. While she doesn’t want the young boys to be punished, she called for counselling and intervention.

Speaking to she said, “We no longer feel safe here, even right in front of our own home… I never expected such an incident would happen.”

The girl’s attackers were later reportedly seen laughing and staring at her mother near the house.

Ireland is seeing a surge in racist assaults against Indians. Since July, three similar targeted attacks have been reported in Dublin.