Rioting continues for third night in Northern Ireland

(News Today) - Police were watching for any further violence Wednesday after a third night of rioting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, officials said.

Nationalist youths fired shots and threw petrol bombs and a pipe bomb at officers. They also shone high-powered laser pens into officers' eyes.

Burning barricades were set up in the Ardoyne area of the city, which has been a flashpoint of the recent violence. One vehicle was hijacked and set alight, police said.

Police used water cannons to disperse the rioters and the violence was over by 2 a.m. (9 p.m. ET Tuesday), police said.

Several officers were hurt but their injuries are not believed to be serious, police said.

Trouble also flared in other parts of Belfast.

The latest violence began after a decision to allow a Protestant parade to pass through a mainly Catholic neighborhood on July 12, a day when Protestants march to celebrate the victory of England's King William III over his ousted Catholic predecessor, James II, in 1689.

Summer marching season an annual flashpoint

Known as The Twelfth, the holiday has previously been marred by violence and has been a source of tension between Catholics and Protestants for years.

Police had to remove demonstrators who staged a sit-down protest to block this year's march. Rioting erupted a short time later and more than 50 officers were hurt.

The previous night, 27 officers were hurt, including three who were shot at close range by a masked man armed with a shotgun.

Source : CNN

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