Violence in Belfast flares for third night

BELFAST - Reuters

A man throws furniture during clashes with police in Belfast. AP photo

Rioters threw petrol bombs, bricks, bottles and fireworks at police early yesterday in a third night of violence in Northern Ireland around traditional Protestant marches.

Protesters built a burning barricade across one road and burned out one car during the clashes that first flared on July 12 following a dispute over a marching route. Thousands of pro-British Protestants march every summer, a regular flashpoint for sectarian violence as Catholics, many of whom favor unification with Ireland, see the parades as a provocation. Orange parades mark a 1690 Protestant victory over a Catholic king. Forty-four police officers have been wounded over the weekend and 49 people arrested, including one aged 10.