A leading loyalist politician has called for an end to attacks on Catholic homes, following a night of sectarian disturbances in north Belfast, writes Monica Unsworth, in Belfast
Mr Billy Hutchinson, an MLA for the Progressive Unionist Party, said the attacks were counter-productive. Catholic homes were hit by paint bombs and windows were smashed as loyalists and nationalists clashed in Ardoyne. Around 150 people were involved in the riot at its height at 2.30 a.m. Two pipe-bombs were defused.
Police heard shots in the nearby Protestant Glenbryn area and crates of bottles and petrol bombs were recovered. Houses on Alliance Avenue, and in the Cliftondene and Oldpark areas, also came under attack. Two men were shot in the leg in separate paramilitary-style incidents in north Belfast early yesterday morning.