MASKED yobs hurled petrol bombs and fireworks at cops for a fifth night in Northern Ireland, in what has been dubbed a “week of shame” for the region.
Cops battled another night of violence as thugs continued to cause widespread devastation after the chaos began on Monday.
GettyA rioter walks past burning flames after chaos in Northern Ireland[/caption]
GettyRiot police were out in force but were met by a barrage of petrol bombs and fireworks[/caption]
ReutersRiot police officers walk near a fire during the fourth night of unrest following a protest over an alleged sexual assault on a local teenage girl[/caption]
The unrest began on Monday in Ballymena over the alleged sexual assault of a girl in the town and the subsequent arrest of two 14-year-old boys.
But the focus of the violence and unrest has since shifted to Portadown.
One officer was directly in the impact of a petrol bomb that landed behind a line of police vehicles during a sustained standoff with those participating in the unrest yesterday.
Fireworks, masonry, and bottles were among other items thrown at riot police deployed in the town.
Shortly before midnight cops used a water cannon on the crowd in an effort to disperse those gathered on West Street into other areas.
The force used the water cannon again at around 12.30am on Saturday.
Incidents have also occurred in other towns – Larne Leisure Centre was set on fire on Wednesday, while a man, woman, and four children escaped an arson attack on a house in Coleraine in the early hours of Friday.
Elsewhere on Friday, there were reports of disruption and damage to public property as riot police responded to another protest in the Tullyally area of Londonderry.
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has said about 50 households have received assistance across the week, and 14 families have been provided with emergency accommodation.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill said everyone is condemning the disorder and calling for it to stop.
She said: “What we have seen over the last four days has been devastation, has been horrific for those people targeted – this is women and children, these are families, at the brunt of racist, violent attacks, and it is wrong on every level.
“The whole of the Executive is united on that front.”
The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said that since violence erupted in Ballymena on Monday, 63 officers have been injured.
Federation chairman Liam Kelly said it has been “a week of shame with appalling levels of unrest in towns and cities”.
“Burning people out of their homes, attacking a leisure centre, and the specific targeting of individuals and property fuelled by overt racism and prejudice, is totally deplorable,” he said.
“Yet again, our overstretched police officers have also been attacked with petrol bombs, bricks and fireworks as they sought to keep people safe and maintain law and order.”
Violence originally erupted on Monday, stemming from an initially peaceful gathering to support a girl and her family after an alleged sexual assault.
Two 14-year-old boys appeared in court charged with attempted rape on Monday.
A third man, 28, was also arrested over the alleged sexual assault.
The boys confirmed their names – which cannot be reported – and their ages through a Romanian interpreter at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court.
But within hours of their court appearance, disorder broke out in Co Antrim.
Why the two 14-year-old boys charged with attempted rape can’t be named
The two teenagers charged with attempted rape appeared at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The defendants cannot be named due to their ages.
Article 22(2) of the 1998 Order restricts press and media reporting of proceedings in youth courts.
It states that, where a child is concerned in any criminal proceedings in a youth court or on appeal from a youth court, no report revealing the name, address or school of any child, including anything likely to lead to the identification of the child, shall be published.
Press and media are also restricted from publishing a picture of any child concerned, except where the court or the Department of Justice, if satisfied that it is in the interests of justice to do so, makes an order dispensing with these prohibitions.
Families in the town of Ballymena were forced to flee their homes as riots raged.
Crowds set fire to piles of furniture in the middle of the streets, homes were set alight, and multiple cars went up in flames.
Harrowing photos from the last few nights show the charred remains of residents’ property.
Footage showed masked and hooded rioters lobbing petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks at cops in the past few days.
Officers fired baton rounds and water cannon in a desperate bid to keep the mobs at bay.
It comes after a senior officer said there would be a “scaled-up” policing presence across Northern Ireland in anticipation of further disorder over the weekend.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the mobilisation, which would include officers sent over from Scotland, was “to reassure our communities and protect our streets”.
Larne Leisure Centre came under attack and was set on fire earlier this weekX / @TheNorfolkLion
AFPOne car was flipped over and set on fire on Tuesday night[/caption]
GettyThe damage after protesters threw petrol bombs, bricks and fireworks[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
