Loyalist paramilitary gunmen fired on security lines in Belfast as loyalist mobs threw bombs of various types in the streets of Belfast this weekend. Cars, busses and trucks were burned. Streets were blocked by loyalist thugs. In north Belfast, children were said to be shocked after a bus was attacked with stones and bottles. A window of the vehicle was smashed and some people on board were screaming in terror. The Guardian reports a BBC TV crew was attacked and a cameraman abducted by gunmen and taken into the loyalist Lower Shankill estate. His camera was taken and his videotape destroyed before he was released.
The attacks left 32 cops injured. This led to an almost unprecedented criticism of the Orange Order (the group behind the “parade”) by the Police Services of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Chief Constable Hugh Orde said it "must bear substantial responsibility for this. They publicly called for people to come onto the street and cannot abdicate responsibility." He said two major outlawed Protestant groups, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), helped to orchestrate what he called "completely organized" attacks. He said police seized a loyalist bomb-making factory and seven firearms in follow-up raids Sunday.
The UDA and UVF are supposed to be observing cease-fires in support of Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord.
So why the violence this time?
On the surface, at least, it seems the reason is that a provocative Orange Order parade was re-routed to the west of the city – rerouted away from the predominantly Catholic area they wanted to march through.
The scale of the rioting was said to be among the most widespread outbreaks in recent years, with people in a number of districts reported hearing automatic gunfire.
Someone is sure to blame the IRA. They always do.
UTV reports that more than 2000 police and soldiers were needed to deal with the loyalist mayhem last night “as it spread overnight into surrounding towns and villages in Co Antrim.” After clashes in north, west and east Belfast, loyalists in the towns of Ballymena, Antrim, Carrickfergus, Larne, Ballyclare and Glengormley then either blocked roads or petrol bombed police. Gangs of youths also gathered in the village of Ahoghill, Co Antrim, which has been blighted by several weeks of sectarian attacks, to burn out cars, attack homes and pelt police with fireworks.
But while the mainstream media focused on attacks against the PSNI, they were far from the only target.
Sinn Fein Chief Negotiator, Martin Mc Guinness accused unionist politicians of creating a political vacuum filled by loyalist paramilitary violence. The Mid Ulster MP added: "Contrary to the picture being painted in the media this violence was not just directed at the PSNI and British Army. Numerous nationalist homes and properties have been attacked in many areas of the North."
Catholics in the Shortstrand area of the city were surrounded by gangs of loyalists reported Ireland On Line.
Alasdair McDonnell, deputy leader of the moderate nationalist SDLP, said the violence was well planned and totally insane. Warning that it had seriously damaged the political process, the South Belfast MP claimed it was reminiscent of the worst days of the Troubles.
As Oread Daily readers know, all summer long loyalists led by paramilitary groups like the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) have been carrying out attacks on Republicans and Catholics. Sources: Guardian, The Independent, Irish Times, The Times, Ireland On Line, UTV, myTELUS
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