The first contentious Orange parade of the marching season was marred by persistent stone- and bottle-throwing last night. PSNI officers deployed water canon to control the situation.
The "Tour of the North" parade involving 1,000 Orangemen and 22 bands followed a 7.5km (4.7 miles) route around north Belfast.
A so-called "feeder" parade involving three lodges from the Ballysillan area was escorted past the republican Ardoyne area amid a significant presence of police and "marshals" from the nationalist community.
Some 600 officers with military support in reserve were on duty. An elaborate CCTV system was also in place.
Under the terms of a ruling by the Parades Commission, the "feeder" march was only allowed to proceed to a single drumbeat past Ardoyne. It was the first time the commission set out conditions on any group other than marchers and bandsmen.
Tension in east Belfast over the staging of a Somme commemoration march eased yesterday following indications from the commission that it would be "flexible" on official applications to stage a parade.
