15 officers injured after missiles thrown at police during unrest in Northern Ireland
Police urge calm after ‘shocking’ disorder in Northern Ireland
- Public disorder broke out in Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, following a protest over an alleged sexual assault case.
- Petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks were thrown at police, and properties were torched during the riots.
- The unrest began as a peaceful vigil before a number of masked people broke away and began to build barricades and attack properties, police say.
- Justice Minister Naomi Long condemned the violence, while North Antrim MP Jim Allister linked the “distressing” unrest to growing tensions over immigration.
- Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the “shocking scenes of disorder on the streets of Ballymena have to be condemned in the strongest terms”, and urged calm.