Over 20 police injured in latest Belfast riots
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, July 12, IRNA -- More than 20 police officers were injured during the latest outbreak of rioting in Belfast overnight Monday with sectarian tensions remaining high at the height of the traditional pro-British loyalist marching season in the province.
Plastic bullets and water cannons were used against crowds of Irish national youths throwing petrol bombs and pieces of masonry with reports also of a bus being hijacked and driven at a police cordon, separating loyalists, who lit bonfires ahead of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations.
Police said they were investigating reports that gunshots were fired in the nationalist area of West Belfast but there are no reports of any injuries as a result.
The latest rioting, involving mainly teenages and children, follow a series of sporadic violence in recent weeks coinciding with the season of provocative marches marking historic Protestant victories over the country's Catholics.
Up to a quarter of a million people are expected to attend or watch the Twelfth of July parades across Northern Ireland, commemorating Prince William of Orange's Battle of the Boyne victory over catholic King James II over 300 years ago in 1690.
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