TALKS HELD TO END ONGOING VIOLENCE IN BELFAST

FOLLOWING two nights of furious clashes in east Belfast, talks between political and community leaders from the Short Strand area have resulted in calls for an end to the violence.

Community leaders from both sides met at an undisclosed location early on Tuesday evening to discuss the recent riots in the Short Strand area. Spokespeople said afterwards that the meeting had been “frank but positive” and appealed to the communities involved to end the violence which has plagued the divided areas of north and east Belfast.

Early on Tuesday 17 July, several hundred loyalists attacked houses in the nationalist area of the Short Strand. Police and soldiers came under fire from gunmen and a total of 35 shots were fired in the lower Newtownards Road / Short Strand area. They also came under attack from petrol bombs, acid bombs and blast bombs.

In north Belfast Sinn Féin has called for the peace wall, separating the Catholic area of Duncairn Gardens from the Protestant Tigers Bay area, to be fortified following recent riots involving petrol and acid bombs and other missiles between the two sides.

RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan said that the disorder was extremely serious and that “someone was going to lose their life if this isn’t brought to an end.”

Meanwhile two houses were attacked with nail bombs in the north and east of the city on Tuesday night.

In the first incident, a nail bomb was thrown at the home of a Protestant man and his family in the Deerpark Road. No one was injured fro the device which landed in the garden. In the second incident, a nail bomb was left on the window sill of an unoccupied house on the Upper Newtownards Road. This device exploded causing scorch damage. (AMcE)