A double-decker bus was completely engulfed in flames after it was bombed by insurgents near the “wall of peace” in Northern Ireland – on the fourth night of violence that injured at least 55 police officers, authorities said.
The wild video shared by The Sun shows the red bus crawling slowly down a street in Belfast late Wednesday, while a crowd of young people dressed in black threw petrol bombs.
It was soon completely engulfed in flames, with huge black smoke rising into the air – later leaving only charred debris on the ground.
“It is not a protest. This is vandalism and attempted murder, “the prime minister said Arlene Foster posted on Twitter along with filming the bus attack, calling it “an embarrassment for Northern Ireland”.
The violence is blamed on heightened frustration over new post-Brexit trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
The gates were lit on a “wall of peace” – separating the pro-Irish nationalist and pro-UK communities since the “Problems” began more than 50 years ago – as crowds threw petrol bombs at it.
The footage shows groups standing around the fires on the wall, in front of a sign that reads: “There has never been a good war or a bad peace.”
Several hundred people gathered on both sides of a gate in the wall, “committing serious crimes, both attacking the police and attacking each other,” said Jonathan Roberts, assistant chief of police in Northern Ireland.
At least seven officers were injured in Wednesday’s violence – reaching 55 injured in at least four nights this week, Roberts said.
“These are scenes that we have not seen in Northern Ireland for a very long time, these are scenes that many people thought were entrusted to history,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told RTE.
“This must stop before anyone is killed or seriously injured,” he said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said he was “worried about the scenes of violence.”
“The way to resolve the differences is through dialogue, not through violence or crime,” he wrote on Twitter.
Brexit has upset the political balance in Northern Ireland, where some identify as British and want to remain part of the United Kingdom, while others consider themselves Irish and seek unity with the EU Republic of Ireland. Each side blames the other for the current violence.
There is also anger that Sinn Fein politicians who attended the funeral of a former commander of the Irish Republican Army last year were not prosecuted for violating the rules of the coronavirus at mass rallies.
Authorities accused outlawed paramilitary groups of inciting young people to wreak havoc.
“We saw young people participating in serious disorders and committing serious crimes and they were supported and encouraged, and the actions were orchestrated by adults at certain times,” said Roberts, the chief police officer.
With Post threads