Six police officers were injured during riots in Belfast overnight in which they used water cannon and fired plastic bullets to break up rival Catholic and Protestant crowds.
Six police officers were injured during riots in Belfast overnight in which they used water cannon and fired plastic bullets to break up rival Catholic and Protestant crowds.
The violence flared in the same area of east Belfast where three people, including a press photographer, suffered gunshot wounds last week in some of the worst rioting in the past decade.
The latest clashes broke out after a large annual parade by the loyalist Orange Order marking the start of the World War One Battle of the Somme passed off without incident amid tight security.
A large force of police in full riot gear kept rival groups apart during the parade but a police spokesperson said on Saturday that "significant disorder" erupted at the interface of a small Catholic enclave and a larger Protestant area afterwards.
Police said six officers received non life-threatening injuries after being hit by missiles thrown by youths. A number of police armoured Land Rovers were damaged and seven people were arrested for riotous and disorderly behaviour.
Parades in Northern Ireland mainly commemorate historical events, particularly notable British victories, and are regarded by marchers as an expression of cultural identity. Many Catholics see them as provocative.
Three decades of fighting between mostly Protestant loyalists who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and Republicans, mainly Catholics, who want it to form part of a united Ireland tore the province apart during the period known as the "Troubles".
A 1998 peace agreement paved the way for a power-sharing government of loyalists and Republicans. Violence has subsided over the years, but small dissident armed groups are still active in the province.
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