Belfast (CU)_Police officers were deployed on Thursday night (8 April) in a bid to put to rest another night of chaos, as loyalists and nationalists continue to clash in the capital city of Belfast, which has left dozens of officers injured in what has been described as the worst violence in Northern Ireland for years.
For the first time in six years, cops deployed a water cannon, as thugs refused to disperse and continued to fire missiles at the police.
Previously British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Irish premier Micheal Martin issued a joint call for tensions to be defused, while the two leaders also spoke over the phone on Thursday (8 April) about the violent clashes over the past week.
Following the phone conversation, the Irish Government assured that it would continue to stay in contact with London to discuss the escalating public order situation. “The way forward is through dialogue and working the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the United States has also expressed its concern over the riots, with President Joe Biden echoing the calls for calm in the European nation.
“We are concerned by the violence in Northern Ireland,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement, adding that the President remains steadfast in his support for a “secure and prosperous Northern Ireland in which all communities have a voice and enjoy the gains of the hard-won peace.”
The violence which has been unfolding over the past week comes amidst growing hostility in the political sphere over issues surrounding Brexit’s Irish Sea trade border. However, the riots were flared by all four main unionist parties who call on PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne to resign over the handling of the funeral of former IRA leader Bobby Storey, an event which drew nearly 2,000 people on to the streets.
Unionists have expressed their fury over the prosecutors’ decision to not take action against 24 Sinn Féin politicians for allegedly breaching coronavirus restrictions by attending the funeral last year. Nevertheless, Byrne claims he will not resign but has expressed his desire to engage with the persons who have concerns about policing in the region.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has expressed his confidence in the Chief Constable, adding that there is no justification for the violence. He also denied that the government of the United Kingdom had abandoned unionists through the new Brexit arrangements.
“I absolutely recognise the challenge and the sense of identity challenges that people in the unionist community have felt around the protocol and the practical outworkings of it,” Lewis said.
“That’s why we took the actions we took just a couple of weeks ago to help businesses and consumers here in Northern Ireland.”
