Police attacked with petrol bombs in Northern Ireland rioting

Unionists criticised for ‘incendiary’ rhetoric as dozens of officers injured in days of unrest

Leaders’ appeals for calm went unnoticed on Saturday as violence erupted in loyalist parts of Northern Ireland for yet another successive night, fuelled by anger over Brexit and the policing of a formerly senior IRA figure’s funeral.

Three cars were hijacked and set alight in Newtownabbey, on the northern outskirts of Belfast, with the burning shells of vehicles pictured blocking the road at the Cloughfern roundabout, where a crowd gathered.

Police reportedly closed off the surrounding roads before moving in on the roundabout, where footage publicised by the Police Federation for Northern Ireland showed masked men running over to throw petrol bombs and other projectiles at an armoured police van from close range, and punching and kicking the vehicle.

It came hours after Stormont’s first minister, Arlene Foster, and the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, called for an end to the violence, after police said a riot involving up to 300 people at the unionist Sandy Row area in south Belfast left 15 officers injured.

Chief Superintendent Simon Walls, Belfast district commander, said rioters threw “heavy masonry, metal rods, fireworks and manhole covers” at police in a “sustained attack”, with officers suffering “burns, head and leg injuries”.

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Of the seven people arrested and charged with riot, two were young boys aged 13 and 14, police said.

And in Derry, a fifth night of unrest raged in the city’s mostly unionist Waterside area on Friday, with Derry City and Strabane area commander Chief Supt Darrin Jones saying police “came under sustained attack from a large group of youths and young adults throwing masonry, bottles, petrol bombs and fireworks” – which he said left 12 officers with injuries.

Chief Supt Jones also said a care home was damaged in the Nelson Drive area during the trouble causing “untold fear and distress” to residents.

The rioting comes amid growing anger within loyalist communities over post-Brexit trading arrangements, which they claim have created barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Tensions also appear to have spiked following the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) decision not to punish two dozen Sinn Fein politicians who – despite tight restrictions as a result of Covid-19 – attended the funeral of former head of IRA intelligence Bobby Storey.

All of the main unionist parties have called for PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne’s resignation, alleging that he has lost the trust of the communities he serves.

Following a plea from the PSNI on Saturday that “anyone who has any influence in communities – whether parents, guardians, community or elected representatives – please, use that influence to ensure young people are kept safe and away from harm”, Mr Lewis and Ms Foster both issued appeals for calm.

The Northern Ireland secretary insisted that “violence is never the answer” and said “there is no place for it in society”, while the DUP leader said: “I know that many of our young people are hugely frustrated by the events of this last week but causing injury to police officers will not make things better.”

But amid the violence, Sinn Fein politicians have accused their unionist counterparts of raising the political temperature with “incendiary” rhetoric over Brexit and Storey’s funeral.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said: “The disturbances in loyalist areas across the north are an outworking of the DUP’s rhetoric and undermining of the PSNI and criminal justice system.

“By their words and actions they have sent a very dangerous message to young people in loyalist areas. The DUP and political unionist leaders need to show leadership and end the incendiary rhetoric.”

Alliance justice minister Naomi Long said: “This is in no one’s best interests – not the officers dealing with it and not the mostly young people risking their futures by engaging in it. It’s incumbent on leaders to behave responsibly and dial down the inflammatory rhetoric over recent days. Words have consequences.”

Following Saturday’s violence, her Alliance Party colleague, John Blair condemned the violence in his constituency at Newtownabbey, calling for calm and “for parents to check where their children are”.

Roads were also closed in Larne on Saturday night as police investigated a suspicious item, but it was declared to have been a hoax.

Additional reporting by agencies