POLICE WERE called out to try to deal with disturbances in east Belfast last night after homes were attacked, petrol bombs thrown and a number of people reportedly injured.
Belfast lord mayor Niall O Donnghaile, an east Belfast Sinn Féin councillor, said that up to 100 men attacked homes last night in the nationalist Short Strand area.
He said some of the men were dressed in camouflage gear and wearing surgical gloves. “This was clearly orchestrated,” he said. “They’ve hit homes with paint bombs, pipe bombs and petrol bombs,” he told the BBC.
“A pipe bomb-type device has gone off. There’s a number of Short Strand residents who are injured and a number of homes have been damaged,” he added. He said the attacks were totally unprovoked.
The situation remained tense as police and community workers tried to restore order and calm.