Furniture set alight as unrest breaks out again in west Belfast

19 April 2021, 21:07 | Updated: 20 April 2021, 17:33

Furniture was set alight in the middle of the Shankill Road, west Belfast
Furniture was set alight in the middle of the Shankill Road, west Belfast. Picture: PA
Nick Hardinges

By Nick Hardinges

Furniture has been set alight near to where a bus was torched by rioters in west Belfast amid renewed unrest in Northern Ireland.

Protesters once again clashed with police on Monday evening along Shankill Road, the scene where the bus was set ablaze earlier this month.

Officers are monitoring a crowd that has gathered across the road and Lanark Way on the loyalist side of the nearby peace line.

Elsewhere, pictures have emerged of another loyalist protest in Newtownards, Co Down.

Read more: Burning car left on Northern Ireland rail track forces train to stop

Watch: Caller from Northern Ireland's stark warning following nights of violence

Rioters hurled objects at police vehicles as furniture burned on the street
Rioters hurled objects at police vehicles as furniture burned on the street. Picture: PA

Demonstrators have been spotted holding banners opposing the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The fresh wave of protests come after a break of roughly one week, before which there had been several days of violence and loyalist riots across the country.

The worst of the trouble came on both sides of the peace wall gates at Lanark Way on 7 and 8 April where police used plastic bullets and a water cannon against the crowds.

Read more: 88 police officers injured during Northern Ireland riots

Watch in full: Iain Dale interviews Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis

A fresh wave of protests erupted on the streets of Belfast on Monday
A fresh wave of protests erupted on the streets of Belfast on Monday. Picture: PA

Protests were temporarily paused following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Loyalist anger at the protocol has been cited as one of the main factors behind the violence that erupted earlier this month.

Another was the decision not to prosecute 24 Sinn Fein members for Covid-19 breaches after they attended a mass republican funeral during the pandemic.

There are also more long-standing concerns held by some loyalists that they have missed out on the gains of the peace process in areas such as jobs, investment and housing.

Nationalists reject the contentions and insist their communities experience just as many problems with poverty.

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