Belfast: Further riots in Northern Ireland

TDespite all appeals to stop the violence, rioters raged again on Friday night in the Northern Irish capital of Belfast. Young people threw stones, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at police officers in the west of the city, the PA news agency reported. The police then used water cannons against the rioters – according to the BBC for the first time in six years in a riot. You have also threatened the use of plastic bullets.

Hundreds of rioters have gathered reported the newspaper “Belfast Telegraph”. Northern Irish Justice Minister Naomi Long made for the riots on twitter “Nationalistic youth” responsible. The violence must stop. Initially, nothing was known about injuries that evening.

Dozens of police officers injured

In the British province of Northern Ireland there have been riots for days, in which dozens of police officers have now been injured. According to the security authorities, behind this are partly militant Protestant-loyalist groups that are also active in the drug trade.

Politicians from both denominational camps in Northern Ireland condemned the riots on Thursday. Northern Ireland is governed by a unity government made up of the largest parties on the Protestant-Unionist and Catholic-Republican sides. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the United States also condemned the riots.

The alleged reason for the protests is the police’s decision not to prosecute politicians from the Catholic-Republican party Sinn Fein for violating corona rules after attending the big funeral of a former IRA terrorist. Northern Ireland’s special status, as defined in the Brexit agreement, is also encountering resistance in parts of the Protestant camp. The province is also part of the EU trade area to prevent goods controls at the border with EU member Ireland. Instead, controls must now be carried out between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.