Northern Ireland endured another night of violence and disruption last night as loyalist protesters built barricades and set alight vehicles to demonstrate their support for the Orangemen at Drumcree.
Rush-hour traffic was at a standstill in Belfast yesterday evening as large parts of the city centre were blockaded by demonstrating crowds. Roads affected included the Crumlin Road, Donegall Pass, Castlereagh Road, Ravenhill Road, Springfield Road, West Circular Road, Donegall Road, Tennant Street, Woodvale Road, Shore Road and the Westlink motorway.
Police came under attack from rioters close to Belfast's "Golden Mile", where a number of vehicles were also hijacked. Gangs of youths launched a sustained attack on officers in the Sandy Row area of west Belfast when they moved in to recover a bus which had been hijacked. The bus's windows were shattered.
A British army spokesman said it had recorded more outbreaks of violence - 61 incidents - over the past three days and nights than had been reported in the whole of last year. Last night, the British army for the first time joined the RUC in patrolling the streets. In the loyalist Taughmonagh estate, a man was shot in the leg, although it was not clear whether the incident was related to the disturbances. A bonfire was lit near Carlisle Circus, a major traffic hub in north Belfast, causing widespread disruption at about 8 p.m., while another obstruction had to be removed from the main Belfast-Bangor carriageway.
Other towns affected by road blockages were Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, Tullygally, Co Armagh, as well as Newry, Co Armagh, Broughshane, Co Antrim and Dungannon, Co Tyrone, where band parades were taking place.
Belfast motorists stuck in morning rush-hour traffic faced additional difficulties, as many roads were still debris-strewn from the disturbances of the night before. Last night, north Belfast once again bore the brunt of the disturbances with cars being stoned in the Oldpark area and derelict properties set alight in Skegoneill Avenue. A number of cars were hijacked and torched in North Queen Street.
At the outskirts of north Belfast, people were hemmed into their homes and shops as protesters blocked parts of the Shore Road, Doagh Road and O'Neill Road.
In the Legoniel district, a young Protestant woman said her house was targeted by a rioting mob because she lived in a mixed relationship.
The east of the city also suffered widespread disruption with one house in the Albertbridge Road area coming under sustained attack from ball-bearings. One of the Belfast's main arteries, the Sydenham bypass, was also blocked for a while when protesters set barricades alight.
In south Belfast, there were reports of children carrying petrol bombs in the Ormeau Park area, while the Milltown Road at Shaw's Bridge was blocked for a time when a lorry was set on fire. The disturbances added to the heartache of the family of Joey Dunlop, the motorcycle racer and Northern Ireland folk-hero killed in a race in Estonia at the weekend. While attempting to bring back Mr Dunlop's body from Dublin airport to his hometown of Ballymoney, Co Antrim, where the funeral is due to take place tomorrow, the family repeatedly had to change route to avoid roadblocks and rioting crowds.