Police rule out paramilitary involvement in Belfast street clashes

Seven people were arrested when rioting broke out in the Castlereagh Street and Albertbridge Road areas of the city after the "mini Twelfth" parade.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it believed the trouble, which flared early yesterday morning, was spontaneous disorder and not orchestrated.

PSNI Chief Inspector Mark McEwan said: "From what we can see, there was no paramilitary involvement in what happened. The violence was spontaneous, it was by a number of people within the Castlereagh Street area attacking police, sparked off by crowds gathering on both sides."

The trouble was not as serious as rioting which broke out in the same area nearly two weeks ago in which three shots were fired and a press photographer was shot in the leg.

However, it is understood that a number of minor incidents that took place in the area on Friday night, including an assault, sparked the violence.

Officers used rubber bullets and a water cannon in an attempt to disperse the crowds. Police moved in to prevent skirmishes between small groups of nationalists and loyalists on the Albertbridge Road, close to the Catholic enclave of Short Strand. Larger crowds then gathered and the PSNI used Land Rovers as a barrier.

Loyalists threw stones and bottles at police in riot gear as officers pushed the troublemakers back.

Chief Inspector Mark Mc-Ewan said tensions in the area had been heightened since the rioting two weeks earlier.

"Despite the best efforts of community workers in the loyalist community, there was an element within that crowd who were determined to carry out violent disorder, and the police in Castlereagh Street became the focus of that attack," the chief inspector said.

"I would appeal to the wider community to take a step back and reflect on what has happened and keep a cool head as we move forward over the next couple of weeks."The "mini Twelth parade", which progressed through the area earlier in the day, passed off peacefully.

The country's Alliance Party condemned the third night of serious violence in east Belfast in recent weeks.

Naomi Long MP said: "People in the area want to get on with their lives free from fear and disruption, and I would appeal to those involved in the trouble to act responsibly and stop hurting the community."

The MP added: "It is appalling that six police officers were injured during these disturbances."

The UVF was blamed for orchestrating the violence in the area last month when petrol bombs were thrown at police and a photographer was shot as hundreds took to the streets in the worst clashes seen in the city in a decade.

Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson said he was prepared to get "directly involved" in attempts to resolve the trouble in his east Belfast constituency.