Police Subdue 100 Rioters at Belfast Police Station

Rioters attacked a police station in an Irish nationalist stronghold Saturday, just hours after Britain launched a drive to end decades of Northern Ireland strife, security sources said.

About 100 people attacked New Barnsley station in the heart of Roman Catholic west Belfast, and officers fired several plastic bullets to quell the trouble, a police spokesman said. No injuries were reported.

Security sources said the flare-up “came out of the blue” and may have been prompted by “a fit of pique” over a recent arms discovery by British forces in the area.

“Some threw petrol [gasoline] bombs and attempted to force open the main gate,” the spokesman said.

Britain tried to secure a lasting peace in the troubled province Friday by inviting Sinn Fein, the political wing of Irish Republican Army guerrillas, to all-party talks.

Security analysts said Saturday’s incident was not a breach of the IRA cease-fire and would not hinder the revamped peace moves.

But they said it demonstrated an underlying volatility in both Irish Catholic and pro-British Protestant enclaves, where tension has been high during many years of conflict.

The skirl of bagpipes and the sound of piercing flutes could be heard throughout Protestant neighborhoods Saturday as thousands prepared for parades marking the close of a tense four-month “marching season.”

Catholic zones were quiet, and hopes were high that Britain’s decision to bring Sinn Fein into talks will cement an edgy peace and lead to a political settlement.

The decision to end Sinn Fein’s isolation and accept a 6-week-old IRA cease-fire was hailed by Catholic leaders as a major boost for hopes of a lasting peace.

The move opens the way for the first negotiations involving London and Sinn Fein since 1921.