Residents demand end to riots

Among those who addressed the crowd was Sinn Féin Assembly member Gerry Kelly who said the vast majority of local people did …

Hundreds of Ardoyne residents held a demonstration last night to voice their opposition to rioting which broke out in the area earlier this week.

Among those who addressed the crowd was Sinn Féin Assembly member Gerry Kelly who said the vast majority of local people did not want the violence and that many of the perpetrators were not even from the area.

There were no reports of trouble last night as police continued to examine cctv footage of the rioting with a view to making further arrests.

A dedicated public order team is trawling through 100 hours of recordings and 1,000 still camera shots in a bid to identify those responsible for the violence.

More than 80 officers were injured in the violence, but the most serious disturbances have been witnessed at the Ardoyne shops interface in the north of the city.

Fourteen people have been arrested in Belfast, but only two in connection with the Ardoyne clashes, and police have faced criticism for not detaining more rioters during the disorder.

Children as young as eight were among the gangs targeting police lines with gunfire, petrol bombs, blast bombs, bricks and bottles.

PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Alan Little, the commander heading the Ardoyne investigation, said yesterday there will be further arrests but warned that it could take months before all those responsible are tracked down.

"There appears to be a misperception among some people that we should be arresting people at the height of a public order situation," he said.

"Some arrests were made on the day, however, it is not always possible to do this for a variety of reasons.

"Some of the footage already released shows clearly the extremely difficult circumstances the officers involved had to face. While making arrests is one of our key priorities, keeping officers and the community safe in the middle of a public order situation has to take precedence.

"It is my job to ensure that where live arrests are not possible the evidence is gathered in such a way that we can present the strongest possible case in court.

"Judge us against our actions. There will be significant arrests. Anybody who was out rioting in the past few nights should be aware that we may come knocking on their door and arresting them."

He added: "To build a proper case against some people it may take months, I may be lucky and get them identified within a matter of weeks."