Crowds attack police near Derry cemetery
rte.ie
Monday, 24 March 2008 22:16
Police in Derry came under attack this afternoon by a crowd of up to 70 people following what is believed to have been a dissident republican parade.
A PSNI spokesman said the trouble began when they attempted to speak to the organisers of what was believed to be an illegal parade in the cemetery area.
Petrol bombs, stones, bottles, and paint containers are reported to have been thrown at police.
Two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, were arrested and more than 40 petrol bombs were recovered.
It came after a quiet start to the loyalist marching season earlier today, when members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry gathered in Richhill, Co Armagh.
A small but contentious feeder parade in North Belfast this morning passed off without incident.
The small police presence in and around Ardoyne was a major contrast to some previous years. The number of nationalist protestors, around two dozen, was also reduced.
Around 20 members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry accompanied by one band walked along Crumlin Road on their way to a parade in Belfast city centre.
In accordance with a Parades Commission ruling, only a hymn was played by the band as they passed along the controversial section of the route.
The Belfast members then travelled to Richhill in Co Armagh where the main Apprentice Boys of Derry demonstration is being held.
The Parades Commission chairman Roger Poole said last week he hoped the Easter period would be respected on all sides. He called on all those involved in parades this Easter to set a positive tone for the year ahead.
