Police chief matt baggott blamed paramilitary groups for the violence on monday. Once again, the riots were preceded by a largely peaceful demonstration. The protests are directed against a decision made by the city council of belfast in early december to allow the british flag to fly on public buildings only a few days a year. Unionists, who fear a breakaway of northern ireland from great britain, have been demonstrating ever since.
Riots continue to break out in the process. In total, more than 62 police officers were injured and 96 people were arrested. Criminal proceedings have already been opened against a large proportion of those arrested.
Over the past weekend, the east of belfast in particular was hardly at rest. Shots reportedly fired at police officers saturday; 38-year-old charged with attempted murder. Baggott called on monday for a halt to the protest march, as freeloaders were jumping up and drawing lots for violence. Police will continue to fight violence for as long as necessary. However, it could not be that they would be prevented from their daily work for a long time.
On sunday, politicians and church representatives had tried together to find a solution to stop the violence. Robin newton of the protestant democratic unionist party explained that the situation is extremely difficult because the organizers of the protests are not willing to talk or compromise: "we have to find a way out of this situation, but how we are going to do that, i don’t know." The head of the police association, terry spence, explained that paramilitary groups took advantage of the flag dispute to turn their guns on the police.
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