Two men were seriously injured after rioting broke out in north Belfast early yesterday. The Police Service of Northern Ireland and the British army came under gun and bomb attack from nationalists during the disturbances.
There has been almost nightly rioting in the area for several weeks and local political and community leaders have expressed concern about the situation. Yesterday's trouble began at around 4 a.m. when a crowd of around 50 loyalists from Tigers' Bay made their way to North Queen Street intent on entering a nationalist area.
Nationalists emerged onto the streets. A shot was fired from the nationalist crowd and petrol bombs and explosive devices were also thrown. A man on the loyalist side was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound to his chest, while another was treated for blast bomb wounds to his head and face.
Neither injury was said to be life-threatening. Both men are still in hospital. Police said an ambulance sent to the scene was forced to take an alternative route after nationalists blocked its path.
Thirteen petrol bombs were thrown at PSNI officers and British soldiers during the fighting and a number of security force vehicles were damaged. Stones and bottles were also hurled. The windows of several houses were smashed.
Around £250,000 worth of damage has been caused in an arson attack on a Catholic primary school on the outskirts of south Belfast. A car was driven into the grounds of St Anne's early yesterday and set on fire. One school block was gutted. The car was earlier reported stolen from the nationalist Twinbrook area.
The school principal, Mr Jim Tiernan, said the classrooms affected were used by the older children at the school. "Three of the classrooms have been burnt to ash. The devastating part of that is all the equipment is gone and the children's records and profiles have been burnt after six and seven years at the school. We are very sad about that."
Meanwhile, a woman escaped injury following a petrol bomb attack on her home in Stradowen Drive in Derry. She was woken by the sound of breaking glass and got up to find that the front door of her house was on fire.
A woman was taken to hospital and several other people rescued by firefighters after an arson attack in the Baloo area of Bangor. A bin was placed against the woman's ground floor flat and set on fire. She was treated for smoke inhalation. The other people were in an upstairs flat. Both flats were damaged in the incident.