The PSNI say two men were seriously injured during sectarian rioting in north Belfast last night.
British soldiers and police officers came under gun and petrol bomb attack during clashes between Nationalists and Loyalists in North Queen Street.
One man is in hospital with a gunshot wound to his chest, while another is being treated for blast bomb wounds to his head and face. Neither injury is thought to be life-threatening.
Trouble flared when police blocked a crowd of about 50 people from the loyalist Tigers Bay district from entering a neighbouring nationalist area.
A police spokesman says nationalists then emerged, firing a shot and launching a number of explosive devices.
An ambulance sent to the scene was forced to take an alternative route after nationalists blocked its path, the spokesman said.
Some 13 petrol bombs were launched at police and British soldiers during the fighting and a number of security force vehicles damaged.
Stones and bottles were also hurled, with the windows on at least two houses smashed.
PA