Officers shot at in North violence
Eight police officers have come under gun attack in Belfast as a fresh outbreak of violence hit the city.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said last night loyalist gunmen opened fire on three police vehicles.
It is understood the vehicles were responding to reports of serious disturbances in the Westland Road area of north Belfast when they came under fire. None of the officers was injured.
Earlier, three people were arrested after street disorder near a pub in the Cavehill Road in north Belfast.
Meanwhile, in a sectarian flashpoint area of east Belfast loyalists claimed houses on the Protestant side of the Short Strand peaceline were attacked with a range of missiles.
Democratic Unionist councillor Ruth Patterson said: “A number of stones, bricks, petrol bombs and objects have been thrown over from the nationalist side.
“Some of the houses in Cluan Place have been hit and soldiers have been trying to put the fires out with residents.”
Last night Sinn Fein councillor, Joe O’Donnell, claimed the violence along the east Belfast flashpoint appeared to have been building up throughout the day following the screening of the Old Firm match between Celtic and Rangers.
“A number of petrol bombs have been fired from the loyalist side and we have had to get our hoses out to deal with them,” he said.
“There would seem to be a large crowd in Cluan Place, probably fuelled by drink after today’s Celtic Rangers match.
“We are trying to calm people down on the nationalist side and think we have managed to do that.
“Obviously we are hoping that we are not going back to the kind of violence that we have seen in this area over the past few months.”
A police spokesman said a number of petrol bombs were thrown at houses in Cluan Place, but they were quickly extinguished by locals and there were no reports of any injuries.
He said: “The attacks followed a night of sporadic trouble in the area.”
