At present the situation throughout the North is described as quiet but tense. Reports are however coming in of a shooting in the loyalist Mount Vernon area in North Belfast. It is not believed the attack was sectarian. The Mount Vernon area is known as a UVF stronghold.
Trouble erupted on the Newtownards Road/Short Strand interface in east Belfast at around 2pm involving a group of apparently drunken loyalist youths. A number of Catholic owned houses in Strand Walk had their windows broken. Following some stone throwing the youths were moved back by the RUC. The situation there is now quiet.
Lurgan, Portadown and the Lower Ormeau in Belfast are all reported quiet as local people await the return of lodges and bands from each of the 19 venues throughout the North. The bridge on the Lowere Ormeau remains closed with a large security barrier erected at 8am this morning by the British Army. Orangemen from the Ballynafeigh Lodge staged a brief protest at the barrier earlier today.In Craigavon this morning there were a number of complaints regarding the behavior of Royal Irish Regiment patrols in the nationalist Meadowbrook estate. In one incident reported to us stones were thrown at a foot patrol. While this was happening a member of the patrol is alleged to have death threated a local man who was standing in his own front yard.
The protest by a local lodge of the Orange Order on the city side end of the bridge in Derry ended at lunchtime with the Lodge declining to join other Orangemen for the main procession on the other side of the river Foyle. There have been a number of minor incidents between the RUC/British Army and nationalist residents in the Gobnascale area of the Waterside in Derry. Members of the PFC witnessed high speed forays into the estate by groups of RUC landrovers. At one stage the patrols were travelling so fast that the rear doors swung open and riot equipment fell out on the road. One petrol bomb was thrown according to reliable sources on the ground. The RUC have claimed that several were thrown. Subsequently a large force of RUC/British Army occupied the estate, ostensibly to search for petrol bombs. They have since withdrawn.
Meanwhile the Grand Master of the Orange Order, Robert Saulters, has called on the unionist parties to withdraw from the crisis talks due to reconvene in England tomorrow. Mr Saulters, who once called the British PM Tony Blair a 'turncoat' because he had attended a Catholic church, was speaking at an Orange rally in Benburb Co Tyrone. The Orange Order frequently attempts to portray itself as an apolitical cultural organisation. In reality the speeches delivered at the annual twelfth parades are anything but apolitical.
The latest information is that Derry remains quiet tonight. Serious trouble has been reported in other areas of the North.
In North Belfast a number of civilians and RUC officers were injured in confrontations between nationalists in the Ardoyne area and the RUC. The trouble erupted shortly before an Orange parade was due to return through the area. Water cannon and 10 plastic bullets were used and running battles took place in a number of streets. Local people report that the RUC baton charged a peaceful protest on the Crumlin Road and drove people into sidestreets. As of 22.00 hours tonight serious rioting continues in the Brompton Park area of Ardoyne. It has been reported to us that the RUC are monitoring the Accident and Emergency Departments at the Mater and Royal Victoria Hospitals in an apparent attempt to arrest those who report injuries that may have been sustained in riots.
Earlier in the day the main Orange parade in Belfast was temporarily halted in Shaftsbury Square when fighting broke out between loyalist bandsmen from rival factions. Loyalist bands tend to support one or other of the main loyalist paramilitary groups. This has led to trouble in the past between bands supportive of the UDA and the rival UVF.
This evening an Orange parade was prevented from returning to east Belfast along the Newtownards Road when serious trouble developed near the Short Strand/ Newtownards Road interface. Water cannon were also used in this area. A local woman was taken to hospital following an assault by the RUC. There had been trouble in east Belfast earlier in the day. At 9.50pm this evening a car came down Mountpottinger Link into the nationalist Short Strand area. The window was rolled down and a number of shots were fired into the air before the vehicle drove off at speed.
In Ballycastle Co Antrim rioting also broke along the route of an Orange parade during protests against the march. There are as yet no reports of injuries or arrests.
There was over two hours of rioting in a nationalist area of Lurgan this evening. The trouble began, according to local people, following a series of provocations from members of the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR). RIR patrols appeared on the fringes of the Kilwilke estate, behaving very provocatively and singing the ‘Sash’, a loyalist song. At the corner of Kilmaine St and North St a couple of young men passed an RUC patrol who said they had pipe or blast-bombs. One was arrested and, according to witnesses, very badly beaten ‘treated like a dog’. The other ran and escaped. The RUC chased him but he escaped through a house. RUC started sledgehammering down front doors.
The area was cordoned off – RUC said there was a pipe bomb under a car (in area where arrest took place). There was some trouble then at Kilwilke.RUC came down the railway lines towards Kilwilke and were stoned by youths gathered at railway bridge and old cemetery. Large crowd of RUC and British Army arrived in the area in full riot gear – acting very provocatively –abuse, songs etc. More nationalists arrived from Kilwilke. Following negotiations the stone throwing stopped. The RUC began to leave, then came back at speed. They said another suspect device was in the area, even though the area was still cordoned off from before. The RUC began to push people back. John O’Dowd, a local Sinn Fein councillor, tried to calm things down – he was hit on the head by an RUC baton. Witnesses saw RUC cocking a gun and pointing it at O'Dowd. The RUC/British Army left at 8pm shouting abuse as they went. At 9.30pm the area was quiet.
As expected serious rioting continued in North Belfast into the early hours of the morning. An undetermined number of civilians were injured by plastic bullets and in RUC baton charges. As reported in the 11pm news update last night the RUC arrested people at the Accident and Emergency Department at the Mater Hospital. According to the RUC over 113 officers were injured, one seriously. The latter was struck with a pickaxe handle. 48 plastic bullets were fired and, according to the RUC, some 250 petrol, paint and acid bombs were thrown. A number of buildings were damaged and vehicles were set on fire. Sinn Fein councillors claim that the trouble was provoked by the RUC and local SDLP Councillor Martin Morgan accused the RUC of 'heavy handed policing' and brutality.
In Derry a group of loyalists who had been drinking in the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall attacked Catholic homes in nearby Fahan St which leads into the Bogside. Windows were broken in three houses in the incident which began at around 8.30pm. A young mother was alone in one house with her newborn baby when missiles were thrown at both the upstairs and downstairs windows. Occupants of the adjoining house had a narrow escape when the attackers tried unsucessfully to kick the door in. Following an assault on a passing taxi driver a large number of taxis from local firms converged on the scene and drove the attackers off, one of whom sustained injuries. The RUC then intervened (according to householders who we have talked to this morning the RUC were in position close by during the entire episode) and were attacked by youths from the nationalist Bogside. Intermittent stone throwing ensued for several hours during which petrol bombs were thrown. When the Fire Brigade attempted to put out a fire in a hijacked vehicle in the Rossville St area they were reportedly stoned by nationalist youths. In the Waterside a community hall was completely gutted in an arson attack in the Clooney area. As yet it is unclear who was responsible. Petrol bombs were also thrown at Clondermot High School, which lies between the nationalist Gobnascale area and the loyalist Irish St area. The school would be perceived as being Protestant.
A Tale of Two Cities
At 11am yesterday morning a local lodge of the Orange Order marched out of the Fountain estate on the West Bank of Derry accompanied by a band and supporters. They were angry at the decision of the Parades Commission to ban their parade from the city centre. As the lodge reached Carlisle Square, a key intersection for traffic between the west and east bank of the river the lodge staged a protest. They attempted to parade up Carlisle Road which leads into the city centre but were stopped by the RUC. In a surprise move they then attempted to parade up Abercorn Road, a residential street which leads into the nationalist Bogside. They then paraded around the roundabout at Carlisle Square a number of times before announcing that they would not join their fellow brethern on the other side of the river but would instead remain at this key traffic junction effectively throwing traffic into and out of the city into chaos. Fair enough. People have a right to protest even if the protest was illegal and violated the determination issued by the Parades Commission. The RUC made the wise decision to allow the protest to continue. Nationalists ignored the stand-off even though one of the most important arterial routes in the city was blocked by Orangemen who had in addition attempted to parade into the Bogside. For a large catchment area on the west bank this meant for instance that the journey time to the only regional A&E unit at Altnagelven Hospital was more than doubled. The stand-off ended peacefully after 11/2 hours. A tale of one city.
In North Belfast last night nationalists in the Ardoyne area staged a peaceful protest at the Ardoyne shops in protest at the Parades Commission decision to allow an Orange lodge to parade through a nationalist area. A peaceful protest had already been held that morning during the outgoing parade. Supporters of the lodge had been heard to chant slogans in support of loyalist paramilitaries. When a small group of residents began their protest on the Crumlin Road last night the RUC made a decision which would allow no room for compromise, negotiation or peaceful resolution. Within minutes the RUC moved in with water cannon, batons, fists and boots. Stewards attempting to keep a lid on the protest were the first target. The operation was described by local SDLP councillor Martin Morgan as brutal, insensitive and heavy handed. It also sparked off several hours of sustained rioting during which civilians and RUC alike were injured. According to RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan the violence in North Belfast last night was co-ordinated and orchestrated. We agree. The violence in north Belfast last night was co-ordinated and orchestrated … by his senior officers within the RUC. The decision to use force to clear the Crumlin Road was surely one of the most irresponsible and incompetent decisions of recent years. The RUC will argue that they were enforcing a determination of the Parades Commission. Yet the RUC in Derry quite correctly decided not to enforce the Parades Commission determination which would have forbidden local Orangemen from blocking a key junction in the city hours before the events in Ardoyne. In any case the RUC in Ardoyne have not exactly earned the trust of the local community in respect of guaranteeing lawful right of passage. During the final two weeks of school term Catholic primary school children in the area were prevented from taking the only direct route to their school by UDA supporters. On that occasion the RUC blocked the children not the protesters. A tale of two cities.