Northern Ireland saw its fourth night in a row of turmoil on Thursday, with anti-immigrant demonstrations in Portadown turning violent. Rioters threw petrol bombs, rocks, and fireworks at police in the town about 50 kilometres southwest of Belfast, a Reuters witness said.
The recent row came after two 14-year-old boys were arrested and appeared in court earlier this week on charges relating to a serious sex attack on a teenage girl in Portadown. The charges, read out with the help of a Romanian interpreter, have fuelled tensions. The defence lawyer for the boys told the court that they each denied the allegations, reports the BBC.
Marchers rallied in Portadown on Thursday under heavy police escort, with riot police and armoured cars sent in to block the way. Streets were cordoned off, and such was the devastation that included wheelie bins set alight and littered streets.
While Portadown was the new centre of attention, there were demonstrations in other parts of Northern Ireland also, albeit most of them peaceful. Ballymena, which had been the seat of more aggressive episodes on Monday and Tuesday, saw peaceful conditions.
Paul Frew, a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Ballymena and a Democratic Unionist Party representative, weighed in on the situation. Talking to the BBC, he said that while crowds had again taken to the streets, the mood was much less fraught. He credited the relative peace to the stepped-up policing and heavy rain, which dissuaded other gatherings.
“Happily, we hope we’re through the worst of it,” Frew said with cautious optimism.
The disorder has caused worries over growing anti-immigrant feeling in Northern Ireland, and the authorities have called for calm as tensions still smolder in some areas of the British-controlled province. Police also have not issued a complete tally of arrests or injuries tied to Thursday’s incidents.
