Rioting broke out in Belfast late Friday in the latest flare of violence in Northern Ireland, just hours after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the troubled British province urging peace. Tensions have risen in Northern Ireland since Belfast's council voted on Monday not to fly the British flag all year round, angering Protestant loyalists who believe Northern Ireland should retain strong links to Britain.
Eight police officers were injured as they clashed with hundreds of loyalists close to the city centre on Friday night and five people were arrested, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said. Two cars were set alight while eyewitnesses said protesters hurled stones, bricks and bottles at the police.
"This behaviour is unacceptable. These people are wrecking their own communities and putting lives at risk," said Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr of the PSNI. "This mob violence cannot continue. I am urgently appealing to politicians and those with influence to do what they can to put a stop to this." Loyalists have held nightly protests in several parts of Northern Ireland since councillors ruled that the British flag can only fly above Belfast's City Hall for a maximum of 17 days a year.
There are plans for a major demonstration against the flag ruling in central Belfast on Saturday. Police said some 1,000 people rioted on Monday leaving 15 police officers injured, and Belfast lawmaker Naomi Long received a death threat on Friday for her non-sectarian Alliance party's support for the change in flag policy.