Violence breaks out at Orange parade

A march by Orangemen in Northern Ireland sparked violent protests by hundreds of nationalists last night.

Police faced a barrage of petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks after officers fired plastic baton rounds at protesters attacking an Orange Order parade in a nationalist area of west Belfast.

The trouble began when Catholic protesters saw Orangemen walking up a contested part of Springfield Road. Running battles then broke out between police and up to 400 protesters.

Earlier, the crowd had thrown missiles at police and burned Union flags as community workers struggled to maintain calm.

In Ardoyne, north Belfast, several hundred nationalist protesters jeered and some threw bottles, cans and fireworks as the Orangemen returned from a parade.

Assistant chief Constable Alan McQuillan later praised members of the Provisional IRA for helping to stop the trouble. He said: "I think tonight it's quite clear there was some exchange of missiles during the parade at Ardoyne but I think people in the republican movement, very senior members, were clearly involved in marshalling the protest. And when some young people did begin to throw missiles they moved in to stop it." Police had previously warned that republicans were preparing for violent protests.

Tension had been high in th area. With a substantial degree of rioting in Belfast in recent months, the authorities had been apprehensive of more violence after discovering a cache of weapons in Ardoyne. On Thursday, a large firebomb in a stolen van was defused close to the route of the main Belfast parade. The device was thought to be the work of dissident republicans.