At least 40 police officers have been injured in serious rioting in north Belfast linked to the ongoing loyalist paramilitary feud.
The disturbances broke out following the arrest of six men by police investigating a shooting war between the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force that has left three men dead.
[The rioters] had so many petrol bombs that we actually stopped counting how many were thrown at our officers Acting PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Wesley Wilson
Officers raided a total of 15 homes, nearly all in the north of the city. The suspects were taken to a serious crime suite at Antrim police station.
Residents blamed police behaviour during the raids for sparking the violence, They claimed officers used abusive language towards children.
The trouble flared shortly after 5.30pm yesterday with three cars and a lorry being hijacked and set alight. Police fired 11 plastic baton rounds during the rioting in the Woodvale area off the Crumlin Road.
None of the injuries to the officers were thought to be life-threatening. A blast bomb was thrown at police lines at around 10pm, while a bus was completely destroyed and ten other vehicles were damaged. Officers also came under fire from petrol bombs, fireworks and an explosive device.
A total of eight vehicles were hijacked, including a HGV cab which was driven at police lines.
A crowd of around several hundred were involved in the rioting and police worked with community leaders to defuse the situation.
Democratic Unionist councillor William Humphrey expressed concern about police conduct. "We have raised the behaviour of some officers which I witnessed yesterday with senior officers," he said. "We want to see community relations being built in this community and not destroyed."
Acting PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Wesley Wilson said any allegations against officers would be investigated. "I know that there have been allegations of heavy-handedness by people," he said. However he said the allegations still did not justify last night's rioting.
Although there was no direct evidence that loyalist paramilitaries were directing the violence, Mr Wilson said it was reasonable to suspect the Ulster Volunteer Force orchestrated the disturbances.
"These people had wheelie bins full of bricks and bottles, they had so many petrol bombs that we actually stopped counting how many were thrown at our officers and blast bombs," he said. While no arrests were made, he confirmed police would be reviewing video evidence to identify those involved.
SDLP North Belfast MLA Alban Maginness said there was no excuse for the riots or the viciousness of the hostility and violence directed at the police. "We cannot have a situation were loyalist criminals organise and begin a riot just because the police move to hold them to account under the law," he said.
Before the latest raids in north Belfast, another 72 searches had been carried out. Police said 14 arrests have been made and seven suspects charged with offences linked to the feud.
The most recent victim of the loyalist feud, Stephen Paul, was gunned down on Saturday night outside Wheatfield Crescent in north Belfast. He was murdered just streets away from where gunmen shot 20-year-old Craig McCausland three weeks ago.
The UVF is suspected of carrying out both attacks, and detectives believe the same gang may have been involved. Ballistic tests have been carried out in a bid to establish if one weapon was used for both killings.
A third man, Jameson Lockhart (25), was shot dead at the wheel of his lorry in east Belfast last month. The UVF was also blamed for that attack.