Minor scuffles break out during Orange Order parade in Belfast
Riot police clash with small number of republican demonstrators as parade passes Ardoyne district
Riot police clashed with a small number of republican demonstrators as the most contentious Orange Order parade of Northern Ireland's marching season ran a sectarian gauntlet in Belfast.
One man was asked to delete pictures of police officers from his camera as up to a dozen residents from the republican Ardoyne district broke away from the main protest against the loyalist march along the Crumlin Road on Thursday morning.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers spoke to the man after they said he was seen taking photographs of police during the scuffles near Brompton Park – a street traditionally where riots erupt during controversial loyalist marches.
Loyalists on the opposite side of the road exchanged insults and threats with republicans penned in by riot squad officers and police Land Rovers as the parade passed the Ardoyne shops around 8.45am.
A republican cried out towards police lines during the fracas: "See you at four o'clock and bring your body armour."
Violence flares up annually on the return parade up the Crumlin Road, although this year the Parades Commission – the body that adjudicates on contentious marches – has ruled that the local Orangemen from north Belfast have to return early at 4pm, a decision the Orange Order has criticised.
The Orange Order claimed on Thursday it has come up with a peaceful solution to the most potentially dangerous parade of the marching season.
Ahead of the annual 12 July demonstrations across Northern Ireland to mark the Protestant victory of King William at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, Orange Order spokesman Rev Mervyn Gibson said they had found a solution.
"All present have agreed a course of action that will guarantee a homeward parade for the Ligoneil lodges," he said.
One possible option will be the Orangemen from the nearby Ligoneil district returning early from the main demonstration in Belfast via bus and adhering to the ruling by marching at 4pm along the Crumlin Road to their local Orange hall.
Northern Ireland's first minister, Peter Robinson, welcomed the Order's decision in a tweet: "Good to see Orange Order giving responsible leadership to maintain peaceful outcome in spite of outrageous Parades Commission ruling."
Police have said they will "robustly uphold" the commission's decision banning Orangemen from walking past shops in the nationalist area of north Belfast after the deadline passes.
There was violence overnight in Belfast and Co Armagh as the marching season reached its climax. Nationalist youths attacked police in the Catholic enclave of The Tunnel in Portadown. In nearby Lurgan, army technical officers carried out a controlled explosion on a van left abandoned by the Continuity IRA outside the town's main police station.
Seven men meanwhile were detained in Belfast after rioting broke out at Broadway, which links the republican Falls Road area and the loyalist Village area across the M1 motorway.
Last year, the Ardoyne parade resulted in 48 hours of rioting with police bombarded with bricks, bottles and petrol bombs from republican youths. Sixteen police officers were injured during sustained disturbances in the area in 2011.
Hundreds of armed police officers – many in riot gear and fireproof overalls – have been deployed across the city in preparation for any trouble once the main Orange Order celebrations conclude at a field on the southern outskirts of Belfast. Thousands more officers are on standby in case of widespread disorder.
One man was asked to delete pictures of police officers from his camera as up to a dozen residents from the republican Ardoyne district broke away from the main protest against the loyalist march along the Crumlin Road on Thursday morning.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers spoke to the man after they said he was seen taking photographs of police during the scuffles near Brompton Park – a street traditionally where riots erupt during controversial loyalist marches.
Loyalists on the opposite side of the road exchanged insults and threats with republicans penned in by riot squad officers and police Land Rovers as the parade passed the Ardoyne shops around 8.45am.
A republican cried out towards police lines during the fracas: "See you at four o'clock and bring your body armour."
Violence flares up annually on the return parade up the Crumlin Road, although this year the Parades Commission – the body that adjudicates on contentious marches – has ruled that the local Orangemen from north Belfast have to return early at 4pm, a decision the Orange Order has criticised.
The Orange Order claimed on Thursday it has come up with a peaceful solution to the most potentially dangerous parade of the marching season.
Ahead of the annual 12 July demonstrations across Northern Ireland to mark the Protestant victory of King William at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, Orange Order spokesman Rev Mervyn Gibson said they had found a solution.
"All present have agreed a course of action that will guarantee a homeward parade for the Ligoneil lodges," he said.
One possible option will be the Orangemen from the nearby Ligoneil district returning early from the main demonstration in Belfast via bus and adhering to the ruling by marching at 4pm along the Crumlin Road to their local Orange hall.
Northern Ireland's first minister, Peter Robinson, welcomed the Order's decision in a tweet: "Good to see Orange Order giving responsible leadership to maintain peaceful outcome in spite of outrageous Parades Commission ruling."
Police have said they will "robustly uphold" the commission's decision banning Orangemen from walking past shops in the nationalist area of north Belfast after the deadline passes.
There was violence overnight in Belfast and Co Armagh as the marching season reached its climax. Nationalist youths attacked police in the Catholic enclave of The Tunnel in Portadown. In nearby Lurgan, army technical officers carried out a controlled explosion on a van left abandoned by the Continuity IRA outside the town's main police station.
Seven men meanwhile were detained in Belfast after rioting broke out at Broadway, which links the republican Falls Road area and the loyalist Village area across the M1 motorway.
Last year, the Ardoyne parade resulted in 48 hours of rioting with police bombarded with bricks, bottles and petrol bombs from republican youths. Sixteen police officers were injured during sustained disturbances in the area in 2011.
Hundreds of armed police officers – many in riot gear and fireproof overalls – have been deployed across the city in preparation for any trouble once the main Orange Order celebrations conclude at a field on the southern outskirts of Belfast. Thousands more officers are on standby in case of widespread disorder.
More on this story
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Orangemen parade through Belfast's Ardoyne district - video
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