Belfast riots: Police urge calm ahead of Castlederg march

Northern Ireland's Chief Constable Matt Baggott has praised officers for their "immense courage"

 

Police in Northern Ireland have appealed for calm ahead of a controversial republican parade later in Castlederg, County Tyrone.

Loyalist protests against a republican parade in Belfast on Friday left 56 police officers injured.
Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers has urged organisers to call off the Tyrone Volunteers Day Parade.

She said the parade, commemorating dead IRA members, was "causing great hurt" to victims of terrorism.

After meeting with a victims' group opposed to the parade, Ms Villiers complained on Thursday that legal powers to ban the parade were "restricted and narrowly defined".

Organiser have refused to call off the march despite calls from the secretary of state as well as victims' families, unionists and other politicians, and Sinn Fein's Martin McGuiness has said people should "respect the right" of republicans in Tyrone to "an act of remembrance".

Mr McGuiness, who will not be at Castlederg because he is on holiday, said this week: "I don't have any other reason to believe that Sunday will not be peaceful - it's not a celebration, it's an act of remembrance."

Sustained rioting

Friday's trouble began when loyalists staged a demonstration in Belfast city centre against a republican parade that was due to pass along Royal Avenue, one of the main shopping districts.

 

Protesters attacked the police with bricks and bottles as they waited for the parade to arrive.

Police said they came under heavy and sustained attack by crowds "intent on creating disorder".
A number of parked vehicles were set on fire in the nearby North Street area and a number of shops and a pub were damaged during the violence.

Officers also said they had reports that two members of the public had been injured.

Some loyalists accused the police of being heavy-handed.

The police fired 26 plastic bullets and made eight arrests amid sustained rioting in Royal Avenue.

Northern Ireland's Chief Constable Matt Baggott described the violence as "mindless anarchy" and "thuggery".

He praised his officers for their "immense courage", saying they had put their lives on the line to protect the rule of law.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that they prevented that anarchy from spreading and, without that courage, many lives may well have been lost," Mr Baggott added.