Second night of riots in Belfast

Police in Northern Ireland came under fresh attack last night in a second night of sectarian riots in east Belfast.

Around 700 people were involved in the violence, police said, as loyalist and republicans pelted each other missiles including petrol bombs and fireworks. Officers were on standby with water cannons after they were hit with stones for a second night in what some have described as the most serious trouble in the area for years.

There was a significant police presence in the Newtownards Road area after the disturbance on Monday night, when a group of men, who police say were from the Ulster Volunteer Force, attacked homes in a Catholic enclave with bricks and fireworks.

Two people were shot during the attacks and are being treated for gunshot wounds to the leg, police said.

Further shots aimed at officers during the disturbances are being treated as attempted murder.

The PSNI said yesterday that there was no evidence that members of the provisional IRA had fired retaliation shots on Monday night, but their investigations were continuing.