More trouble on streets of Belfast

Sep 5 2012

Police have come under attack in a third night of disturbances in Belfast.

Officers were pelted with fireworks and bricks in the Carlisle Circus area in the north of the city.

Riots around the same location over recent nights have left more than 60 officers injured. Police used water canon and baton rounds during serious violence on Sunday and Monday which has been sparked by fresh tensions over parades.

Officers have called for politicians to do more to calm the sectarian disturbances which loyalist paramilitaries have been accused of orchestrating.

And with a major loyalist parade planned for September 29 the Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr said: "Northern Ireland cannot afford an 11th hour solution." The senior officer expressed fears that lives could be lost if the issue is not resolved.

Stormont leaders have pledged to help tackle the parade tension that surfaced after restrictions were placed on loyalist marchers who had played offensive tunes outside a Catholic church near the scene of the riots.

On Monday night 15 police officers were injured during serious disorder in the area. Three were taken to hospital during trouble that saw rioters throw 15 petrol bombs at police lines in the Carlisle Circus area. Rioters also hurled stones, bottles, fireworks and rocks and hijacked a van in Denmark Street on Monday night before pushing it towards police lines.

Crowds again gathered in Denmark Street on Tuesday before violence broke out. Police have closed roads leading to the area.

Terry Spence, chairman of the Northern Ireland Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said: "Their bravery and courage is in stark contrast to that of the cowardly thugs responsible for trying to murder them."

The latest disorder came after 47 Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers were injured on Sunday night during riots linked to a republican parade nearby and a loyalist protest.