In the capital of Northern Ireland – Belfast – on the evening of Thursday, April 8, there were again street clashes with the police, the participants of which threw stones and “Molotov cocktails” at law enforcement officers. In response, police used water cannons for the first time in several years and threatened to use plastic bullets.
Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – April 09, 2021 – International News
According to the British edition of The Guardian, plastic balls had already been used the night before. Northern Ireland’s justice minister, Naomi Long, has called for an end to the violence, accusing “nationalist youth” of attacking police. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Michal Martin also called for an end to the unrest.
The riots in the capital of Northern Ireland, involving young people from Protestant and Catholic parts of the city, have been going on for about a week. According to the Associated Press, even children aged 12-13 are visible in the street crowds that clash with the police. The day before, on April 7, rioters burned the bus. According to authorities, the photographer was attacked. About 55 police officers were injured in several nights of clashes.
One of the reasons for the riots was the funeral of a former member of the Irish Republican Army, in which high-ranking politicians from the pro-Irish Catholic party Sinn Fein took part. The decision of the prosecutor’s office not to hold them responsible for violating measures to combat the coronavirus caused dissatisfaction among Protestants loyal to the authorities in London. In addition, fragile stability in the region has been shaken by Britain’s exit from the EU.
Tensions between unionists (those who see Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom) and loyalists (those who want to see Ireland independent) are fueled by dissatisfaction with the first border protocol in the Irish Sea, which is part of the Brexit agreement. Ireland and the rest of the UK.
As you know, in 1998, the United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland, signed a Good Friday Agreement with the Republic of Ireland, which ended more than three bloody decades of violence. It was then that checks at the border between the two Ireland ceased.
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Source: Ukrgate
