Three Northern Irish police shot in overnight riots
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Jul 12, 2010, 4:19:07 AM7/12/10
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Perilous Times
Three Northern Irish police shot in overnight riots
Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:00am EDT
BELFAST (Reuters) - Three police officers were shot and injured overnight in Belfast, Northern Irish police said on Monday, after an annual display of bonfires sparked unrest.
The disturbances happened near bonfires which pro-British Protestant groups light each year, burning Irish flags and photos of politicians from Catholic backgrounds who want a united Ireland.
As violence erupted shortly before midnight, crowds of up to 200 people threw petrol bombs and other objects. Independent police watchdog the Northern Ireland Policing Board said violence was directed at police.
"Their injuries are not believed to be serious at this time," a police spokeswoman said.
Police later said 27 officers had been injured in two separate locations during the night, including the three shot, but did not clarify the exact motives for the unrest.
Local media said some of the violence started as police tried to separate people gathering in an Irish nationalist area of the city from those attending bonfires nearby.
Marches are due to take place later on Monday to mark the culmination of a season of parades by Protestants, events which also every year raise tensions with Catholics.
On Saturday a bomb destroyed a bridge in Northern Ireland in an attack police said was also targeted at its officers.
A 1998 peace agreement largely ended three decades of violence between predominantly Catholic groups who want a united Ireland and mainly Protestant unionists who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom.
The main paramilitary organizations on both sides, such as the Provisional IRA, have surrendered their weapons, but militant splinter groups have stepped up attacks recently.
Dissidents have attacked security forces several times, with the Real IRA believed to be leading much of the campaign including car bombings and shooting at police officers.
(Reporting by Andras Gergely and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Maria Golovnina)
Three Northern Irish police shot in overnight riots
Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:00am EDT
BELFAST (Reuters) - Three police officers were shot and injured overnight in Belfast, Northern Irish police said on Monday, after an annual display of bonfires sparked unrest.
The disturbances happened near bonfires which pro-British Protestant groups light each year, burning Irish flags and photos of politicians from Catholic backgrounds who want a united Ireland.
As violence erupted shortly before midnight, crowds of up to 200 people threw petrol bombs and other objects. Independent police watchdog the Northern Ireland Policing Board said violence was directed at police.
"Their injuries are not believed to be serious at this time," a police spokeswoman said.
Police later said 27 officers had been injured in two separate locations during the night, including the three shot, but did not clarify the exact motives for the unrest.
Local media said some of the violence started as police tried to separate people gathering in an Irish nationalist area of the city from those attending bonfires nearby.
Marches are due to take place later on Monday to mark the culmination of a season of parades by Protestants, events which also every year raise tensions with Catholics.
On Saturday a bomb destroyed a bridge in Northern Ireland in an attack police said was also targeted at its officers.
A 1998 peace agreement largely ended three decades of violence between predominantly Catholic groups who want a united Ireland and mainly Protestant unionists who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom.
The main paramilitary organizations on both sides, such as the Provisional IRA, have surrendered their weapons, but militant splinter groups have stepped up attacks recently.
Dissidents have attacked security forces several times, with the Real IRA believed to be leading much of the campaign including car bombings and shooting at police officers.
(Reporting by Andras Gergely and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Maria Golovnina)
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