On March 29, police officers were the target of a petrol bomb attack in a predominantly unionist area of Tullymore, Derry / Londonderry, after an attempt to break up a crowd of about 40 people. For five nights, similar scenes unfolded in the city.
On Friday, April 2, the disorder spread south to Belfast, where a small protest fell in an attack on police in a loyalist pocket in the Sandy Row area, where 15 police officers were left with burns, head and leg injuries.
Belfast District Commander-in-Chief Simon Walls said officers were “subjected to a sustained attack by riot police who have thrown various objects at police, such as heavy masonry, metal bars, fireworks and sewer caps “.
Why is this happening?
Storey’s funeral drew crowds of about 2,000 people.
Loyalist communities have accused the authorities of partisan hypocrisy around this decision, saying they had made the decision to cancel the traditional July 12 parades last summer because of the Covid-19. and he had missed events and attended the funerals of loved ones because they had adhered to these restrictions.
But many analysts also point to the recent and successful police crackdown on drug gangs and criminal activity with the support and direction of loyal paramilitary forces.
Who is upset?
Most riot police are young, with some participants up to 12 years old, according to the Northern Ireland Police Service (PSNI).
The first days of violence, which escalated over the Easter weekend, took place in areas predominantly loyal to the cities of Belfast and Derry / Londonderry and the cities of Newtownabbey, Ballymena and Carrickfergus.
But that dynamic changed Wednesday in West Belfast, where riots by loyalist and nationalist communities clashed along the so-called peace line: a closed wall separating predominantly unionist and nationalist neighborhoods from each other.
At one point, police struggled to close a door designed to separate areas during the violence, where petrol bombs, bottles, masonry and fireworks were thrown.
Sometimes more than 600 people were present, police said.
Earlier Wednesday, a bus was also hijacked and set on fire on Lanark Way, near the junction with Shankill Road, where a press photographer was also attacked.
In some videos of the disorder that are shared on social media, you can see adults encouraging and demanding children to commit violent acts, raising deep concerns that violence could be orchestrated by paramilitary groups.
On Thursday, the PSNI said they were still trying to confirm “whether or not there were paramilitary groups involved” in the riots. Police did not say there was a paramilitary involvement, but PSNI’s temporary substable Jonathan Roberts said it was “clear there was a certain degree of organization” of the violence.
Clashes continued on Thursday evening on Springfield Road in Belfast, with protesters throwing stones at police vehicles on the nationalist side of the peace line. Officers with riot gear, with dogs and a water cannon, moved to disperse those involved.
The South Belfast UPRG on Thursday became the first loyalist group to call for an end to the disorder. The Council of Loyalist Communities (LCC), a group that includes representatives of unionist paramilitaries and is also associated with the UPRG, said in a statement on Friday that “none of its associated groups has participated either directly or indirectly in the face-to-face violence recently days “. He added that “the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental human right,” but that all actions taken by members of the loyalist community “should be completely peaceful.”
The PSNI ruled out the involvement of loyal paramilitaries in orchestrating the violence on Friday, and appeared to backtrack on its previous assessment.
At a press conference, Roberts said his “overall assessment” was that the violence that has occurred “is not orchestrated by a group, on behalf of that group.”
“There are certainly people who have been involved in the violence who have nothing to do with any illegal organization,” he said.
“We believe there may be some people who may have a connection to banned organizations, who have been present at the scenes of the violence, but we do not believe they have been sanctioned and organized by organizations prescribed for peaceful protests,” he added.
What does Brexit have to do with this?
The unrest is developing amid growing anger over a specific part of the Brexit deal.
The GFA marked the end of the Problems, a term used to describe the period of violent conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted from the late 1960s until its signing in 1998.
But after the UK left the EU (and its single market), a new plan was implemented, the Northern Ireland (NI) Protocol.
The NI protocol aims to eliminate the need for border controls between Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) and the Republic of Ireland (EU member).
Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said on Wednesday that “dishonesty and lack of clarity around these UK government issues have contributed to a sense of anger in some parts of our community, “saying the government was minimizing the impact Brexit would have on northern Ireland.
Last month, the Loyalist Communities Council declared that it was withdrawing its support for the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement.
What do political leaders say?
After several consecutive days of unrest, British Prime Minister Johnson said on Wednesday that he was “deeply concerned about the scenes of violence” in Northern Ireland.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who spoke with Johnson later that day, said “the way forward is through dialogue and work in the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement,” which ended decades of deadly sectarian violence across Ireland.
On Thursday, the White House joined Northern Irish, British and Irish leaders in expressing concern about the violence, with State Department spokeswoman Ned Price warning that the Good Friday Agreement does not work. ‘must’ become a victim of Brexit ‘.
Long, the Northern Ireland justice minister, has called on people to “stop before lives are lost”.
On Thursday, at an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland government, Prime Minister Arlene Foster said the violence had tarnished the country’s reputation on its centenary.
“We should all know that when politics fails or is perceived to fail in Northern Ireland, those who fill the void offer destruction and despair. We cannot allow a new generation of our young people to fall victim to this path or be taken .for someone who prefers shadows to light, “Foster told the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Is there any indication of a decrease in violence?
Both communities call for calm. However, it is unclear whether this call will be heard.
Saturday marks the 23rd anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
Journalist Peter Taggart, CNN’s Emmet Lyons, Amy Cassidy and Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.