On Wednesday, west Belfast, riots
collided along the so-called “peace line” that divides predominantly unionist and nationalist communities, with police struggling to close a gate to separate the areas.
A bus caught fire on Lanark Way, near the intersection of Shankill Road,
said the police. Photos and
video from the stage showed young people on both sides of the gate throwing projectiles over, including petrol bombs.
In a statement, Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin condemned the violence and “attacks on the police”, adding that “the only way forward is to address the concerns of concern through peaceful and democratic means”.
“Now is the time for the two governments and leaders from all sides to work together to turn off tensions and restore calm,” Martin said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
SAPS he was “deeply concerned about the scenes of violence” in Northern Ireland.
“The way to resolve the differences is through dialogue, not violence or crime,” Johnson said on Twitter.
Tensions have risen in Northern Ireland since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, creating the potential for a border between the UK-led north and the Republic of Southern Ireland, which remains in the EU. The lack of a border had been seen as a key element of post-1998 peace, followed by three decades of sectarian violence.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Brexit withdrawal agreement, a de facto border has been set up in the Irish Sea, with goods entering Northern Ireland from mainland Britain subject to EU scrutiny, a move that has angered unionists, who they accused London of abandoning them.
Speaking to CNN, Democratic Unionist MP Sammy Wilson called on Johnson to “break the deal that breaks the UK, to break the deal that breaks all the promises you made to the people of Northern Ireland.”
Last month, the Council of Loyalist Communities (LCC), a group of unionist paramilitaries, said it was withdrawing support for the Good Friday Agreement that put an end to the problems.
While the LCC said the opposition would be peaceful, the letter said the groups would not reintegrate “until our rights under the agreement were restored and the protocol (Brexit) amended to ensure unrestricted access to goods, services and citizens across the UK ”.
LCC President David Campbell said recently: “It is very easy for problems to get out of control, so it is essential that dialogue takes place.”
Writing on Twitter Late Wednesday, Mary Lou McDonald, an Irish parliamentarian and Sinn Fein leader, said: “A united voice to stop all violence and restore calm is the only acceptable position on the part of all political leaders. Attacks and intimidation must end.”
CNN’s Nic Robertson and James Griffiths contributed to the reporting.
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