BELFAST (AP) – Youth gangs threw rocks and fireworks at Belfast police, who hit back with water cannons when violence flared up in the streets of Northern Ireland.
Unrest has erupted over the past week due to tensions over post-Brexit trade rules and worsening relations between the parties in Belfast’s Protestant Catholic government.
The latest violence on Thursday night came despite calls from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and US President Joe Biden for tensions.
Police officers with riot shields were pelted with missiles before officers with dogs on the rioters were charged. Police also used water cannons to disperse the crowd.
Earlier in the day, the Northern Ireland Assembly unanimously passed a motion calling for an end to the disorder, and the region’s government condemned the violence.
“Although our political positions are very different on many points, we are all united in our support for public order and we jointly express our support for the police and for the police officers who have endangered themselves in order to protect others,” van the five-party government said in a joint statement.
“We, and our departments, will continue to work together to maximize the support we can give to communities and the (Northern Ireland Police) to prevent further violence and unrest.”
Northern Ireland has experienced sporadic outbreaks of street violence since the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement ended “the Troubles” – decades of Catholic-Protestant bloodshed over the status of the region in which more than 3,000 people have died.
Britain’s split from the EU has highlighted Northern Ireland’s contentious status, where some people identify as British and want to remain part of the UK, while others see themselves as Irish and seek unity with the neighboring Republic of Ireland, an EU member.