Rioting on the streets of North Belfast is the worst seen in the city for twenty years, an RUC chief said tonight.
After another night of sectarian clashes which left 14 RUC officers injured - four in a blast bombing - the Assistant Chief Constable, Mr Alan McQuillan said: "It is far worse than anything we have seen for many, many years."
"Some of the rioting we have seen in north Belfast this summer is the worst we have seen in Belfast since the hunger strikes, that is the level of ferocity, the level of violence, we are dealing with," he said.
It was worse than the worst at Drumcree two to three years ago, he said.
"It is the fact that it is continuing all the time, and it is the level of violence and frequency of attacks, the number of people involved and the extent to which petrol bombs and blast bombs are being used.".
More than 300 officers have been injured during the weeks of clashes.
PA