Belfast Police, Rioters Exchange Gunfire After Protestant March

Police exchanged gunfire with rioters in a Roman Catholic neighborhood early today after 100,000 Protestants marched throughout the British-ruled province commemorating centuries-old battles.

Rioters set fire to vehicles and attacked police in the Ballymurphy district of west Belfast in a second night of violence, venting their anger over police decisions to allow two Protestant marches through Catholic enclaves Thursday and Friday. The Orange Order, the province’s dominant Protestant fraternal group, marches each July to commemorate its 17th century victories over Catholics.

Police returned fire after shots were fired at a police station in west Belfast. There were no reports of injuries. Serious rioting and vehicle hijackings were also reported in Catholic parts of south, north and east Belfast, as well as in the province’s second-largest town, Londonderry.

The Lower Ormeau neighborhood in south Belfast--the isolated Catholic enclave where British forces escorted a Protestant parade despite locals’ protests Friday morning--remained saturated with troops early today.