A policeman remains in a critical condition in a Belfast hospital after violent clashes between police and rival crowds in Portadown on Saturday. Trouble began during the afternoon after a loyalist "Right to March" parade had disrupted traffic in the town centre.
The crowd of around 500 was closely monitored by a heavy RUC presence as it made its way through the town to a car-park at the rear of High Street. Here the situation was aggravated by the appearance of some 200 people from the nearby nationalist Obins Street area.
At this stage Cllr Breandan Mac Cionnaith spoke to the senior RUC officer on duty. As he was doing so a fusillade of stones and bottles was thrown by nationalist youths at the loyalists. They responded and a number of people were injured and taken to hospital.
The RUC pushed the loyalists back into West Street and by mid-afternoon the police had managed to separate the rival crowds.
At about 5 p.m. petrol bombs were thrown at the police. Thirty minutes later two Catholic-owned businesses in the town centre were attacked. One shop, Slumberland Textiles, in William Street was burned down.
By early evening an uneasy standoff had developed between police and loyalists. This later erupted into further violence after a loyalist band parade passed through the town. Shortly after 11 p.m. a number of petrol bombs were thrown at the police lines at Corcoran Drive and police responded by firing plastic baton rounds into the crowd.
Afterwards, a blast bomb was thrown at the security forces, injuring two policemen, one of whom sustained head injuries. He was taken to hospital and later transferred to Belfast Royal Victoria where he remains in a critical condition. Saturday's violence in Portadown has been widely condemned by politicians and community groups. Northern Ireland Minister Lord Dubbs said: "I am appalled that police officers have come under such vicious attack. Once again the RUC finds itself bearing the brunt of thuggish behaviour on the streets of Northern Ireland."
Security forces yesterday said that they had no evidence to suggest the LVF was involved in the violence in Portadown.