Loyalist protesters have attacked Northern Ireland police with petrol bombs, fireworks, bottles and stones during the sixth consecutive night of disorder in the capital Belfast.
Police were able to maintain order in the city’s combustible eastern neighbourhoods on Tuesday without resorting to plastic bullets or water cannon, which were both used to quell Monday’s unrest. No injuries were reported.
Pro-British protesters have taken to the streets of Belfast almost every night since December 3, when the city council announced it would no longer fly the British flag all year round at the City Hall.
The decision sparked riots at the start of December which gave way to largely peaceful protests, but the violence has flared again since the start of the new year.
There are fears of more trouble on Wednesday as the flag is flown for the first time since the ruling in order to mark the birthday of Prince William’s wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Rioters on Monday used weapons including hatchets and sledge hammers to attack police and their vehicles, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.
Britain’s Northern Ireland minister, Theresa Villiers, said the province was being “held to ransom” by the protesters and called for an end to their demonstrations, including peaceful rallies that have blocked traffic for weeks.
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