‘Orchestrated attack’ on police in Northern Ireland
Some 30 petrol bombs were thrown at police in what has been termed an “orchestrated attack” during a further night of disorder in Northern Ireland over the weekend.
Police were attacked in Newtownabbey on the outskirts of Belfast on Saturday, after violent scenes in the Sandy Row area of the city as well as in Londonderry on Friday. Some 27 police officers were injured on Friday night across Belfast and Londonderry.
North Area Commander Chief Superintendent Davy Beck said 30 petrol bombs were thrown at officers and three cars set alight in Newtownabbey on Saturday.
He said from around 7:30pm to 10:30pm a crowd of 20 to 30 people, some of whom were wearing masks, gathered in the O’neill Road/cloughfern area.
“In total 30 petrol bombs were thrown at police and three vehicles were hijacked and set on fire,” he said. “One man aged 47 was arrested and he currently remains in police custody.”
Mr Beck said it was an “orchestrated attack on police”.
“My officers put on their uniform every day and go out into the community they serve, not knowing what lies ahead of them. No-one, no matter what line of work they are in, deserves to be subjected to any kind of violence.
“The officers who serve the Newtownabbey area are fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, they have families who wait every day on their loved ones coming home, hoping they have not been injured, or worse.”
He added: “I would appeal to those who are taking to the streets to stop immediately,
their actions are causing nothing but harm and distress to the very communities they claim they are representing.”
On the same night, a security alert in Larne, Co Antrim, was declared to be a hoax.
The scenes come amid tensions across Northern Ireland. Loyalists and Unionists are angry about post-brexit trading arrangements which they claim have created barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
In Co Antrim, a recent series of drug seizures against the South East Antrim UDA – a renegade faction of the main loyalist Ulster Defence Association – have caused particular ill-feeling towards police. The faction is believed to have been behind the disturbances in Newtownabbey on Saturday.
Tensions ramped up further this week following a
controversial decision not to prosecute 24 Sinn Fein politicians for attending a largescale republican funeral during Covid-19 restrictions last summer.
All the main Unionist political parties have demanded the resignation of PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne, claiming he has lost the confidence of their community.
DUP leader Arlene Foster and other Unionist parties have condemned the violence.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly claimed the disturbances were “a direct consequence of the actions of political unionism”.
He said: “The disturbances in loyalist areas across the north are an outworking of the DUP’S rhetoric and undermining of the PSNI and criminal justice system.”