The assistant Chief Constable of the RUC Alan McQuillan has said that today's rioting in Derry was completely orchestrated by Republican paramiltary groups in the city. He said that he would not rule out the possibility that dissident groups were also involved. Mr McQuillan also said that the 130 petrol bombs had been thrown at police officers; 8 police officers were injured and six arrested during the disturbances.
Mr McQuillan described what had happened in Derry as "a disgrace". He said that there had been planned hijackings and that six vehicles have been hijacked altogether. Meanwhile Northern Ireland Office Minister Adam Ingram, has said that today's violence at Apprentice Boys parades in Belfast and Derry, was the responsibility of those who had tried to challenge on a street level a lawful decision made by the Parade's Commission.
There were sporadic clashes between Nationalist youths and the RUC in Derry, throughout the day as Apprentice Boys held their parade through the city centre. The violence centred on the Waterloo Place area of the city - the exact spot where 30 years ago rioting triggered the battle of the Bogside. Reacting to the violence, Sinn Féin MP Martin McGuinness said that with 10,000 Apprentice Boys in a highly militarised area, it was difficult to maintain any semblance of peace in the city. The Apprentice Boys parade itself passed off without incident although there are fears that there could be further violence tonight.
The tensions in Derry follow violent clashes in Belfast this morning between police and Nationalist protesters. The RUC say that 19 police officers and a number of protesters were injured when security forces moved in to stop the demonstrators blocking the Ormeau Road. At least two people were taken to hospital after some of the crowd resisted the RUC's efforts to remove them. The police were enforcing a ruling by the Parades Commission allowing the Apprentice Boys to hold a feeder march along the road. The march itself later passed off without any major incident. There was also trouble in Lurgan, where security forces were attacked by a group of about 75 people early this morning. The crowd threw stones, bottles, paint bombs and other missiles. A number of arrests were made after the incident, which happened at the junction of Willian Street and Victoria Street.
Follwowing the Ormeau Road disturbances, The Minister for Foreign Affairs, David Andrews, said that he was deeply disturbed by the violence. Mr Andrews said the scenes were particularly unfortunate because the indications were that the Ormeau residents intended a peaceful protest only. The Fine Gael leader John Bruton has called for a report to be prepared on the policing of the Parades Commission's decisions and residents concerns about it.
