Loyalist gangs riot in Belfast as political tensions mount

A night of rioting by loyalist factions in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has left the political establishment in the British-controlled territory reeling.

Petrol bombs, bricks and bottles were reportedly thrown at police during intense rioting on Friday evening (April 02) in the Sandy Row area of South Belfast.

According to multiple reports, at least 100 people – mostly youths and young adults – were actively involved in rioting.

Sandy Row is a working-class Protestant area and is traditionally a bastion of loyalist gangs and terror groups.

According to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), 15 officers were injured and eight people arrested, including teenage boys as young as 12 and 14.

The Northern Ireland Secretary, Brandon Lewis, described the violence as “completely unacceptable”.

“It is unwanted, unwarranted and I fully support the PSNI appeal for calm”, Lewis added.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Arlene Foster, warned young people not to get “drawn into disorder”.

Foster, who is the leader of the loyalist Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), added: “I know that many of our young people are hugely frustrated by the events of this last week but causing injury to police officers will not make things better”.

Although Foster didn’t explain what “events” of the last week she was talking about, most likely she was referring to the political fallout surrounding the funeral of the former head of the intelligence section of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Bobby Storey.

Storey’s funeral was held in June 2020 but it was only last week that local prosecutors decided they would not charge anyone in relation to their attendance at the event when strict Covid-19 restrictions were in place.

The prosecutors’ decision not to charge anyone has incensed the entire loyalist community, from respectable groups such as the DUP to the violent gangs who caused mayhem on the streets of Belfast in last night’s riot.

More broadly, Brexit-related political events, notably the row with the European Union over the Northern Ireland protocol and the concomitant rise of the Irish Unity movement, have further upset the loyalist community.

For their part, the largest Irish Republican group, Sinn Féin, placed the blame for last night’s disorder firmly at the unionist camp.

Paul Maskey, who is a Sinn Féin MP for the Belfast West constituency, said "dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric" from the DUP and political unionism more broadly has "heightened tensions".

Maskey added it was "deeply concerning to see these types of incidents at the height of the Covid pandemic and as we are beginning to make good progress" before calling for “calm heads” and “responsible leadership” to prevail.

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