Rioters attack the police with blast bombs in Belfast

Pro-British rioters have attacked the police with blast bombs in two parts of the Northern Irish capital of Belfast in the fourth night of running troubles over a ban on one of their annual marches.

Police were hit with at least four pipe bombs on the Lower Newtonards Road in east Belfast, with several petrol bombs near the Catholic Short Strand, which has been a hotspot of clashes between pro-British and anti-British groups in the city and with a pipe bomb at Ardoyne in north Belfast.

The police said they were lucky to escape the attacks without serious injuries.

The street riots started on Friday by pro-British protestant groups in reaction to a ban on their annual Orange Order march through one of Belfast’s key Catholic areas.

The Orange Order’s annual protests before and after July 12th anniversary the victory of Protestant king William III of Orange over the Catholic king James II at the Battle of the Boyne over three hundred years ago have always been a trigger for violence.

This year’s clashes with the police have so far left 40 officers injure.