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| Police in Belfast fire plastic bullets to quell riots | Police in Belfast fire plastic bullets to quell riots |
| (2 months later) | |
| An MP was knocked unconscious while water cannon and plastic bullets were used to quell serious disorder in Belfast as hundreds of police drafted into Northern Ireland from across Britain had a baptism of fire at the end of the Twelfth of July – Ulster loyalism's most sacred day. | An MP was knocked unconscious while water cannon and plastic bullets were used to quell serious disorder in Belfast as hundreds of police drafted into Northern Ireland from across Britain had a baptism of fire at the end of the Twelfth of July – Ulster loyalism's most sacred day. |
| Sectarian clashes and attacks on police lines erupted in north and east Belfast with rioters throwing petrol bombs, golf balls, bricks and, in one case, wielding a ceremonial sword. At least seven police officers were injured and the Democratic Unionist MP Nigel Dodds taken to hospital after he was hit in the head by a projectile and rendered unconscious. | Sectarian clashes and attacks on police lines erupted in north and east Belfast with rioters throwing petrol bombs, golf balls, bricks and, in one case, wielding a ceremonial sword. At least seven police officers were injured and the Democratic Unionist MP Nigel Dodds taken to hospital after he was hit in the head by a projectile and rendered unconscious. |
| Weeks after Barack Obama's appeal in Belfast for the ending of the so-called "Peace Walls" separating communities, the rioting underscored the deep sectarian divisions still prevalent in areas of Northern Ireland after the violence was triggered by the banning of a contentious Orange Order parade returning via its traditional route past the Catholic Ardoyne district in north Belfast. | Weeks after Barack Obama's appeal in Belfast for the ending of the so-called "Peace Walls" separating communities, the rioting underscored the deep sectarian divisions still prevalent in areas of Northern Ireland after the violence was triggered by the banning of a contentious Orange Order parade returning via its traditional route past the Catholic Ardoyne district in north Belfast. |
| The march was allowed down the Crumlin Road in the morning but the Parades Commission – the body that adjudicates on contentious marches in Northern Ireland – ruled that the Orangemen had to return by an alternative route in the evening. | The march was allowed down the Crumlin Road in the morning but the Parades Commission – the body that adjudicates on contentious marches in Northern Ireland – ruled that the Orangemen had to return by an alternative route in the evening. |
| Even before Orangemen attempted to force their way back on to the Crumlin Road in the evening, brief but vicious skirmishes broke out at a junction near the city centre as nationalist youths fought brief hand-to-hand battles with loyalists. | Even before Orangemen attempted to force their way back on to the Crumlin Road in the evening, brief but vicious skirmishes broke out at a junction near the city centre as nationalist youths fought brief hand-to-hand battles with loyalists. |
| More violence broke out in the two main areas of disorder – Woodvale Avenue and the Lower Newtonards Road. | More violence broke out in the two main areas of disorder – Woodvale Avenue and the Lower Newtonards Road. |
| The trouble in the northern area of central Belfast was the precursor for a night of intense violence linked to the seemingly insoluble parades dispute. | The trouble in the northern area of central Belfast was the precursor for a night of intense violence linked to the seemingly insoluble parades dispute. |
| Returning loyalists from the main Orange Order demonstration in the outskirts of south Belfast attacked another Catholic chapel, St Matthews and the nearby Catholic enclave of Short Strand in the east of the city. | Returning loyalists from the main Orange Order demonstration in the outskirts of south Belfast attacked another Catholic chapel, St Matthews and the nearby Catholic enclave of Short Strand in the east of the city. |
| Near the nationalist Ardoyne a lone loyalist youth dressed in a grey tracksuit, his face concealed with a pulled-up hoodie, launched a one-man attack on Catholics below him. Using the vantage point of the roof of a building adjacent to Ardoyne ambulance station he bombarded nationalists with bricks and bottles. In response a policeman wearing body armour and a visored helmet climbed on to the roof of the building, fell into bushes and then dodged a series of missiles before the youth was eventually arrested. | Near the nationalist Ardoyne a lone loyalist youth dressed in a grey tracksuit, his face concealed with a pulled-up hoodie, launched a one-man attack on Catholics below him. Using the vantage point of the roof of a building adjacent to Ardoyne ambulance station he bombarded nationalists with bricks and bottles. In response a policeman wearing body armour and a visored helmet climbed on to the roof of the building, fell into bushes and then dodged a series of missiles before the youth was eventually arrested. |
| Northern Ireland's deputy first minister and Sinn Féin's key negotiator during the peace process, Martin McGuinness, said the leadership of the Orange Order bore the responsibility for the violence, branding them a "disgrace." | Northern Ireland's deputy first minister and Sinn Féin's key negotiator during the peace process, Martin McGuinness, said the leadership of the Orange Order bore the responsibility for the violence, branding them a "disgrace." |
| The Orange Order appealed for calm to be restored in the streets, adding: "The Parades Commission must go but violence is not the way to achieve it. All protests must be peaceful." | The Orange Order appealed for calm to be restored in the streets, adding: "The Parades Commission must go but violence is not the way to achieve it. All protests must be peaceful." |
| Loyalists are furious over the decision to block their return via the Ardoyne shops and the Crumlin Road. They claim it was taken to prevent a repeat of last year's rioting by nationalists in Ardoyne when dozens were injured and which many said was orchestrated by dissident republicans. | Loyalists are furious over the decision to block their return via the Ardoyne shops and the Crumlin Road. They claim it was taken to prevent a repeat of last year's rioting by nationalists in Ardoyne when dozens were injured and which many said was orchestrated by dissident republicans. |
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