Petrol bombs and blast bombs thrown
LOYALISTS threw blast bombs and petrol bombs at police and attacked nationalist homes in east Belfast during a fourth night of rioting.
Despite appeals for calm from police and politicians a pipe bomb was thrown at officers in north Belfast and loyalist rioters attacked police in south Belfast last night. Police fired at least one baton round and used water connon on rioters on lower Newtownards Road in the east of the city after attacks on homes in the nationalist Short Strand area. Masked men threw four blast bombs from the loyalist Pitt Park area at police on lower Newtownards Road. Noone was injured. Up to 50 rioters threw stones stones and other missiles at police in the Glenmachan Street and Broadway areas of South Belfast. In North Belfast hundreds of loyalists, many wearing Orange regalia, blocked Twaddell Avenue for several hours and up to three bands walked up the road playing The Sash. Loyalists threw petrol bombs and missiles at police near the Mount Vernon estate and a vehicle was set alight. Loyalist protesters blocked roads in the Corcrain area of Portadown, Co Armagh, including a junction with the nationalist Garvaghy Road.
In Derry officers seized 20 paint bombs during a whiteline protest by loyalists on the main Glendermott and Limavady Roads. Paint was thrown at two Protestant churches in Derry erarlier yesterday, an attack condemned by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. Early yesterday evening police narrowly escaped serious injury after a pipe bomb expolded close to officers in north Belfast. The device was thrown from the nationalist Brompton Park area of Ardoyne at police on Crumlin Road at about 5pm yesterday. Noone was injured in the attack, which was swiftly condemned by nationalist and unionist politicians. A seven-year-old was on the street at the time of the attack, Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said. Superintendent Emma Bond said the bomb could have badly injured officers. “We consider ourselves extremely fortunate that we are not dealing with a much more serious incident and that all the officers were able to walk away from the situation unharmed,” she said. Loyalists held demonstrations across Belfast and other towns last night in protest at the Parades Commission’s decision to block Orangemen and bands from parading past Ardoyne shops on the evening of the Twelfth. Protests were held on Shankill Road in West Belfast, Sandy Row and Castlereagh Street in east Belfast as well as in Dondonald and Antrim.
With many thanks to : Claire Simpson and Connia Young, The Irish News.
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