Tensions high for loyalist march
A large security force presence was expected in west Belfast today as a contentious loyalist parade passed a sectarian flashpoint.
The Springfield Road has been the scene of violent clashes in the past after marchers from the Whiterock Orange Lodge passed nationalist homes.
Supporters of the walkers have been banned from the most contentious part of the route, from Workman Avenue to West Circular Road, this year, however, nationalist residents are still furious that marchers will pass a number of homes.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams called for calm after a meeting with the Parades Commission, although he insisted the residents of the mainly nationalist Springfield Road felt “justifiable anger”.
The police and army were pelted with stones and the security forces used a water cannon to disperse angry nationalist protesters when trouble flared last year.
