Drumcree protest winds down overnight

Petrol bombs were thrown at police barricades in Drumcree in the North last night but there was no serious disorder, the RUC …

Petrol bombs were thrown at police barricades in Drumcree in the North last night but there was no serious disorder, the RUC said.

Crowds gathered near a barricade erected to block Orangemen from marching on their traditional parade route along the nationalist Garvaghy Road.

A small section of the crowd set off fireworks, some directed at the police and army, and a number of petrol bombs were hurled at barricades.

No one was injured and the crowd dispersed at around 1 a.m., an RUC spokesman said.

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Police chiefs fear trouble could spread throughout Northern Ireland, however - raising tensions in the run-up to Thursday's Twelfth of July Battle of the Boyne commemorations where an estimated 100,000 Orangemen will be on the streets.

PA