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Trouble Erupts in Belfast
Loyalists and Nationalists pelted each other with missiles as Orangemen marched through a bitterly contested north Belfast flashpoint. Stones, bottles and golf balls were hurled as several hundred on either side were kept apart by a massive security operation in the Ardoyne district.Rival factions were also involved in a developing standoff along neighbouring backstreets. Youths attacked riot squad troops amid heightening tensions over the hotly disputed decision to impose restrictions on the Orange order returning from the city centre through the staunchly Catholic area. At one stage a crowd of nationalists seized control of army batons and shields and attacked a small pocket of soldiers who were hemmed in around their Land Rover. Politicians and police had earlier appealed for restraint as the Orangemen celebrated the 314th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. The Parades Commission has told Orangemen from Ballysillan they could march up the Crumlin Road past the interface with the nationalist Ardoyne, but not with their bands and supporters. The decision angered both the Orange Order and nationalists who say there should be no parade on the route.Posted by: Howard UK 2004-07-13 |
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