Newtownabbey: Petrol bombs and bricks launched at PSNI

It is the second night of consecutive violence in the area

Pieces of a wall that were thrown at the PSNI on Northland in Carrickfergus near Belfast following sporadic outbursts of disorder.
Author: Sarah MckinleyPublished 5th Apr 2021

Police have come under attack in County Antrim as violence flared during another night of sporadic disorder.

Petrol bombs and bricks were thrown at officers in loyalist areas in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus on Easter Sunday night.

It was the second night in a row that trouble broke out at the Cloughfern roundabout in Newtownabbey, although the violence was not as prolonged as on Saturday night.

The PSNI on North Road in Carrickfergus.

There was also disorder in the North Road area of nearby Carrickfergus on Sunday night.

On Saturday, 30 petrol bombs were thrown at officers in Newtownabbey in what police described as an "orchestrated attack'', while cars were hijacked and set ablaze.

A man walks past a burning car that was hijacked by Loyalists at the Cloughfern roundabout in Newtownabbey on Saturday night.

On Friday, there were violent scenes in the Sandy Row area of Belfast as well.

Tensions have soared within the loyalist community in recent months over post-Brexit trading arrangements which have been claimed to have created barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Anger ramped up further last week following a controversial decision not to prosecute 24 Sinn Fein politicians for attending a large-scale republican funeral during Covid-19 restrictions.

All the main unionist parties have demanded the resignation of PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne, claiming he has lost the confidence of their community.

Meanwhile in Co Antrim, a recent series of drug seizures against the South East Antrim UDA - a renegade faction of the main grouping - have caused particular ill-feeling towards police.

The faction is believed to have been behind some of the weekend disturbances.

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