Rioting in N. Ireland Injures 9
Seven police officers and two civilians were wounded Saturday in a clash over a restricted Belfast parade in which Protestant extremists threw homemade grenades.
Protestants fought with police, British troops and Catholic crowds in several parts of Belfast after authorities blocked the Orange Order, the territory’s major Protestant brotherhood, from parading past the hard-line Catholic end of Springfield Road.
At least three officers were injured by homemade grenades and gasoline-filled bottles on nearby North Circular Road. Four other officers were injured in separate incidents across the city.
Officers took cover behind their armored vehicles after hearing automatic gunfire.
Later, riot police equipped with body armor, shields and flame-retardant suits repelled the attackers with plastic bullets and mobile water cannons.
The rioting spread after nightfall to Ballyclare and Newtownabbey, two predominantly Protestant suburbs of Belfast. On Shankill Road, more than 1,000 people confronted police units, who responded with plastic-bullet volleys and water jets. At least two civilians were injured.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
