Twenty-two police were injured when Irish nationalists rioted in Northern Ireland overnight, burning cars and firing petrol bombs to protest huge annual marches by pro-British Protestants planned for Tuesday. Police fired plastic bullets and used water cannon to control crowds of up to 200 people in Roman Catholic areas of West Belfast, a police spokeswoman said. Rioters hijacked a bus during the disturbances and burnt a van and motorcycle.
Tens of thousands of Protestants were due to take part in marches on Tuesday to mark the 1690 victory of King William of Orange over Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne, which helped ensure Protestant supremacy in Ireland. Many Catholics regard the marches as provocative, and violent protests often erupt as they pass Catholic suburbs.
Three decades of fighting between mostly Protestant loyalists who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and Irish nationalists, mainly Catholics, who want it to be part of a united Ireland tore the province apart during the period known as the “Troubles.”