Reports obtained from:
(1) Daily Ireland, (2) Irish News, (3) Irish Republican News
Had loyalist mobs succeeded in their attempts at the weekend to enter Catholic districts - in the Short Strand and on the Grosvenor Road, for instance - an armed republican response would almost certainly have ensued, much to the delight of unionists, and much to the detriment of the peace process. Which is why the British state needs to get serious about loyalist violence - Daily Ireland Editorial
Tuesday, 13 September, 2005
Monday, 12 September, 2005
Friday-Monday, 9-12 September, 2005
Tuesday-Thursday, 30 August-1 September, 2005
Flames of hate (3)
Sunday-Wednesday, 21-25 August, 2005
Thursday-Tuesday, 2 June-16 August, 2005
British need to get serious on loyalists
Editorial
By Daily Ireland
We hate to say we told you so, but... we told you so. Our repeated assertion that virtually the entire security apparatus of the British state is directed against republicans - from intelligence to military bases to spy towers - was illustrated with shocking clarity at the weekend when a wave of loyalist violence washed across the North with the PSNI and the British army neither prepared for it nor able to deal effectively with it.
GAA fans travelling to Croke Park for the big match yesterday report seeing helicopters over the bases that remain there. No similar sight will have been witnessed in loyalist North and West Belfast, North Antrim, Larne or Carrickfergus where the UDA and the UVF's writ runs and where roaming herds of paramilitary thugs maintain the ability to bring ordinary life to a halt.
That the Orange Order and loyalist paramilitaries are acting in close harmony on the issue of contentious parades has been evident for some time, but when the Chief Constable of the PSNI says it, when he adds that members of the Orange Order attacked his officers, and when he lays the blame for the orgy of violence squarely at the door of the Orange Order, then such unambiguous words demand action. At the very least, that means that the Parades Commission is now required to factor into its determinations the indisputable fact that the Orange Order is not just capable of provoking violence by insisting on marching where it is not wanted, but it is likely to become engaged in that violence itself. That should have profound implications when it comes to Parades Commission rulings on future marches not just on the Springfield Road, but anywhere else that parades bring strife.
For its part, it is essential that the British government does nothing to suggest that this latest round of carefully orchestrated violence does not give its instigators what they want. Quite simply, those who organised the violence want the British government to intervene in contentious parades the way it did when it forced through the parade at Drumcree in 1996 and 1997, beating Catholics off their own streets in the process. That this madness should take place at a time of great hope and promise is no coincidence. The IRA has ordered its volunteers to dump arms and it's believed that a comprehensive process of decommissioning is in train, with the British response having been swift and significant. Protracted bleating by unionist politicians about the removal of spy towers and the dismantling of local units of the RIR has had little effect as the British government for once seems capable of seeing the wider picture.
But had loyalist mobs succeeded in their attempts at the weekend to enter Catholic districts - in the Short Strand and on the Grosvenor Road, for instance - an armed republican response would almost certainly have ensued, much to the delight of unionists, and much to the detriment of the peace process. Which is why the British state needs to get serious about loyalist violence.
Copyright © 2005 Daily Ireland
Leaders bear responsibility
Editorial
By Irish News
The fact that trouble erupted on Saturday came as no surprise. However, the intensity, ferocity and scale of the violence has caused widespread shock.
Statistics released by the chief constable yesterday (Sunday) tell part of the story of the weekend disturbances.
Two thousand police and soldiers were deployed, 450 plastic bullets were fired, 32 police officer injured, more than 50 live rounds fired by loyalists, seven by security forces.
The number of civilian injuries, hijacked vehicles, damaged properties, traumatised victims and so on is still being assessed.
The damage to our society, community relations and hopes of political progress will be harder to quantify but is certainly immense.
It is not just the mayhem which took place in Belfast, Ballymena, Ahoghill, Ballyclare and other places which will cause many people to despair but also the lack of accountability and failure of leadership among key players.
Sir Hugh Orde has understandably apportioned a significant amount of blame for Saturday's violence at the door of the Orange Order.
The order responded with a statement of breathtaking arrogance which accused the police of brutality and made no comment about the chaos which had erupted on our streets.
However, the order cannot wash its hands of responsibility.
On Friday, following a week which had seen street protests and rioting and with fears being expressed about the Whiterock parade, Dawson Bailie, Belfast county grand master, called on supporters to come out onto the streets.
Given the tense atmosphere and predictable consequences, this was a reckless act bordering on lunacy.
The Orange Order professes to be a law-abiding organisation, yet the chief constable has directly accused Orangemen of attacking the police. However, the order has so far remained silent on this.
DUP leader Ian Paisley, in a statement issued on Saturday, blamed the Parades Commission for the violence, but failed to condemn those engaged in the appalling scenes of thuggery.
There is no doubt that the UVF and UDA were orchestrating the disorder. The sheer number of petrol and blast bombs, the use of automatic weapons and the spread of incidents show the paramilitaries were well-prepared and well-organised.
The failure of influential figures to issue swift and unequivocal denunciation of the activities of these sinister forces sends out a dangerous message.
It must be accepted there is considerable disaffection and frustration in loyalist areas and it is important to examine the reasons for this. However, there can be no justification for the violence which was unleashed at the weekend.
Unionist representatives have a duty to reflect the concerns of their constituents, but they must also give a clear lead.
Unfortunately, after the events of recent days, it is not clear where politicians are leading the unionist people.
Copyright © 2005 Irish News
Friday-Monday, 9-12 September, 2005
Peace under siege
Unionists riot to block process
By Irish Republican News
A wave of intense street violence has gripped Belfast and other towns in the North of Ireland as unionists seek to send a message over recent developments in the peace process.
For a third night, unionist paramilitaries have mounted attacks with bullets, petrol bombs and blast bombs. Cars have again been hijacked and burned as mobs of 'loyalists' continue to terrorise the main Belfast arterial routes.
Nationalists and British forces have sustained numerous injuries, with at least one Catholic man in critical condition in hospital.
Water cannon has again been brought to the hardline unionist Shankill area of west Belfast as PSNI police struggle to cope with a hard core of rioters.
On Saturday night, live gunfire was exchanged between the PSNI and unionist paramilitaries in some of the most intense clashes in recent years. Petrol bombs rained down on police lines from behind burning barricades across Belfast and in parts of Counties Antrim and Down.
The violence, which was tightly organised by the unionist paramilitary UVF and UDA, began during a parade by the Protestant Orange Order which had been rerouted away from a republican area of west Belfast.
The Orangemen, some in traditional garb, appeared to work in concert with the paramilitaries, attacking police and initiating riots as their parade ended.
Unionist politicians have failed to condemn the violence, citing anger at perceived concessions to republicans following the end of the Provisional IRA's armed struggle.
According to police statistics, 450 were plastic bullets fired and 32 police officers were injured over the weekend. More than 50 live rounds were fired by unionist paramilitaries, while many of those engaged in rioting appeared drunk or on drugs.
One man was critically injured after being caught in an explosion, another was shot in the stomach by a loyalist sniper. Police later found seven guns and what they described as a "bomb factory".
Families have spoken of their alarm as masked gangs hijacked cars and busses and robbed their possessions.
Tensions were already high in Belfast following police raids aimed at curbing the bloody feud raging between the rival unionist paramilitary groups, the UVF and LVF, that has claimed four lives this summer. That turf war escalated further on Friday when two men were shot in separate gun attacks in Portadown.
Then tension hit a higher notch when hardline DUP leader Ian Paisley warned that the rerouted Orange Order parade could prove "the spark which kindles a fire there could be no putting out". UUP leader Reg Empey blamed police actions for provoking the violence.
The first hint of the orgy of violence came when a 29-year-old Catholic man was savagely beaten by 10 men early on Saturday morning on the Albert Bridge Road near the Short Strand in east Belfast. The victim remains in critical condition in hospital.
Sinn Fein South Belfast MLA Alex Maskey challenged Mr Paisley, Mr Empey and Orange Order chief Dawson Bailey to condemn the rioting.
He said: "The widespread disruption and attacks are not just an attempt to terrorise the nationalist community, but they are an attack on the whole community.
"Unionist leaders must make it clear that there can be no justification for such actions, and that they stand against this violence and intimidation."
After snipers fired at least 50 shots at his officers following the parade, the PSNI Chief Hugh Orde, accused the Orange Order of stoking the violence. He said: "I have seen members of the Orange Order in their sashes attacking my officers. I have seen them standing next to masked men. That is simply not good enough ... The Orange Order must bear substantial responsibility for this.
"They publicly called people on to the street. If you do that, you cannot abdicate responsibility."
Yesterday the Orange Order condemned the remarks as "inaccurate and inflammatory", but the PSNI later released footage clearly showing Orangemen attacking police lines.
Dawson Bailie, district master of the Order in Belfast, said: "As far as I'm concerned the people to blame for that are the secretary of state, the chief constable and the Parades Commission, fairly and squarely."
He added: "I'm not condemning anything at this moment in time."
Sinn Fein Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness MP has accused unionist politicians of creating a political vacuum that is being filled by unionist paramilitary violence.
"Unionist politicians and the Orange Order cannot shirk responsibility for the increased violence seen over the past few days," he said.
"It is incumbent on unionist politicians to stop the prevarication and engage with the representatives of the nationalist/republican people now in order to remove this political vacuum.
"Unionist politicians must use their influence in a positive manner to have all activity by unionist paramilitary organisations stopped immediately."
Friday-Monday, 9-12 September, 2005
Ceasefire to be declared over
By Irish Republican News
After days of open warfare, British Direct Ruler Peter Hain is finally to admit that the unionist paramilitaries are no longer on ceasefire.
The British government has been derided in recent weeks for its adherence to the position that the UVF was abiding by its ceasefire, first declared in 1994.
The UVF has been blamed for five deaths in recnt months as it targeted both innocent Catholics and rival loyalist groups.
After being briefed by PSNI police chief Hugh Orde on the violence that has raged across Belfast and surrounding towns for three nights, Mr Hain confirmed he was set to announce his course of action.
Mr Hain, who studied CCTV footage of gunmen and petrol bombers in Belfast, County Antrim and County Down, said he was horrified by what he had viewed.
He declared: "The evidence I have seen this morning is absolutely clear-cut. If it wasn't clear-cut before, it`s absolutely categorical now.
"As a result, I'm now going through, and indeed have been over the past week, a process in which I will be making an announcement in the next few days."
Mr Hain refused to say if that would involve specifying, or declaring the ceasefires of both organisations in tatters, but he added that detailed legal issues were being examined.
"I need to do this in a proper way," he insisted.
Mr Hain added that the situation had now reached a defining stage for political representatives and all others caught up in the violence.
He said: "This is a moment of choice for everybody, for politicians and for people right the way down through every part of the community.
"Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of law and order, applied fairly and equally to every citizen?"
Dublin's Foreign minister Dermot Ahern described the violence as "an extremely worrying turn of events".
"What happened was a huge effort to intimidate nationalist communities, who fear very much for the future," he said.
The 26-County Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said the violence in Belfast over the weekend was "extremely dangerous" and marked "a very serious development".
"It is essential that there should be renewed dialogue at community level to avoid a repeat," he added.
Mr Ahern said: "This cannot be sorted out by governments - this is for the communities themselves... We need to get politics back on track and to get community goodwill working," the Taoiseach said.
In Dublin, President Bush's special Irish peace envoy, Mr Mitchell Reiss, called on unionist politicians to reassert themselves in their communities. He said "no political party and no responsible leadership deserves to serve in government unless it wholly and unconditionally supports the police and calls on its constituents to do the same".
Friday-Monday, 9-12 September, 2005
Belfast fearful as mobs rampage again
By Irish Republican News
Nationalist residents of west Belfast's Springfield Road were subjected to hours of unionist intimidation and threats on Saturday as the PSNI police stood by.
The claims came after Orangemen and bandsmen held a protest on the Springfield Road in protest at the Parades Commission's decision not to permit an Orange Order parade to march via Workman Avenue onto the Springfield Road.
The march was instead rerouted through Mackies Industrial Estate.
On Saturday afternoon, a 500-strong mob of Orangment and loyalist supporters made its way up the Springfield Road and stopped for almost two hours outside the nationalist cul-de-sac of Watermouth Crescent. The mob verbally abused residents and threatened to return later that night to burn them out of their homes.
The six PSNI members were present, who were described by residents as 'leaning against the wall', did not intervene.
The mob then staged a sit-down blockade and played loyalist tunes for two hours while Orangemen hurled abuse.
Sean Paul O'Hare, spokesman for the Springfield Residents Action Group, said the Orangemen and loyalists had tried their best to provoke residents into a violent response.
"They were calling us Fenian Bs and told us they would be back to burn us out later that night," one resident said.
"The music was deafening and there were loyalist paramilitary flags being waved, which was also a breach of conduct.
"At one point, they had the pikes they carry in a position as though they were going to charge us.
"It was then the policemen moved in between us but, rather than push the Orangemen back onto the street, they pushed the residents further into the cul-de-sac. We had no protection whatsoever," said the resident.
Elsewhere in Belfast, nationalists living on the Grosvenor Road were left to ponder their options when faced with a 200-strong mob of loyalists advancing over the Westlink Bridge.
The crowd caused traffic chaos on the Westlink, a major artery in the city.
Sinn Fein's Fra McCann said it was a "disgrace" that so many loyalists had made it so far up the road without being intercepted by the PSNI.
"These people came a far enough distance. They had to cut across the Westlink on a busy Saturday afternoon to get to the Grosvenor Road. Even more importantly, they had to pass the heavily fortified Grosvenor Road barracks. It's a disgrace that they were able to do so."
Councillor McCann said many locals feared a repeat of Bombay Street in 1969 when Catholics were burnt out of their homes by loyalists.
"This mob was making threats, telling the residents that they were gong to be burnt out. They were throwing missiles, shouting sectarian abuse. They smashed a car windscreen and were doing their best to get to a statue of Our Lady that was in the garden of a house in Devonshire Street," said Councillor McCann.
It wasn't until people heard the mob and came out of their homes and local shops to defend themselves that the crowd finally retreated back across the Westlink.
"The young people of this area must be commended for their efforts in chasing this mob from the road. This was an orchestrated attack which saw loyalists clearly try to provoke nationalists into a riot situation but our appeals for calm and restraint were heard and nationalists refused to get involved."
In east Belfast, a dozen loyalists viciously attacked a Catholic man near his home in the early hours of Saturday morning.
John McKay (29) was set upon on his way home from helping to raise funds for the Justice for Robert McCartney Campaign.
He is recovering in hospital after being discovered lying in a walkway at the junction of Albert Bridge Road and the nationalist Short Strand area at around 2am.
He was kicked and beaten unconscious by the mob who were seen running up the Ravenhill Road. The attackers were described as being tanned and wearing peach, pink and orange T-shirts.
Later, hand-to-hand fighting broke out as nationalist residents were forced to defend their community from another large mob of loyalists.
Petrol bombs were thrown at the Strand Walk area and shots were fired along Albert Bridge Road as loyalists appeared determined to provoke residents living nearby.
Hours of rioting left the area strewn with wreckage and debris in scenes from the worst of the conflict.
As the night wore on, a mechanical digger was hijacked and used to rob a cashpoint machine from a filling station before being used to level every road sign, traffic light and bus stop for hundreds of metres.
Friday-Monday, 9-12 September, 2005
Hurricane of violence reaches Antrim
By Irish Republican News
Several towns in County Antrim witnessed their worst ever street violence over the weekend.
Meanwhile, besieged Catholics in Ahoghill yesterday suffered further attacks after being caught up in violence related to the Orange Order parade in Belfast.
Carrickfergus, Larne, Antrim as well as Glengormley and Newtownabbey were disrupted by carjackings and rioting.
In Newtownabbey, a bank was destroyed by arsonists, although its safe survived intact. The office of North Belfast DUP MP Nigel Dodds became engulfed in the arson attack aimed at the business next door.
A bus was hijacked in Antrim town and set alight. Cars were also hijacked and set alight in Carrickfergus and Larne.
Homes of Catholics in Ahoghill's Brookfield Gardens estate were targeted during the violence
Vehicles were set on fire in Brookfield Gardens and at The Diamond in the centre of Ahoghill and that missiles were thrown at police.
On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, a bloodthirsty mob systematically smashed the windows of dozens of Catholic homes in the village.
Catholics in the village have been targeted by a long-running sectarian campaign this year.
Sinn Fein councillor Monica Digney said: "Brookfield Gardens was effectively sealed off by a loyalist mob with burnt vehicles pulled across the road.
"All of the houses with Catholic families in them or which were previously occupied by Catholics had their windows smashed. This was a brutal and intense sectarian attack as part of an ongoing campaign against Catholics. Conditions for Catholics in Ahoghill are utterly intolerable."
SDLP councillor Declan O'Loan described the loyalist activity as "a deplorable episode".
"These were very serious riots in Ballymena and Ahoghill. I am deeply worried that the scale of disturbance was considerably more than first thought. It is now clear that 11 vehicles were burnt out, including a lorry. A caravan has also been burnt out. A number of houses formerly occupied by Catholics had windows broken in Ahoghill," Mr O'Loan said.
In the nearby Co Derry town of Magherafelt, a historic Catholic church was targeted for the second time in two weeks by sectarian graffiti.
Near Bangor, County Down, a bus was set alight in Conlig on Sunday night after it was hijacked by loyalists.
At Harryville church, near Ballymena, Fr Paul Symonds cancelled church services to prevent any possibility of parishioners being attacked.
Friday-Monday, 9-12 September, 2005
Analysis: PSNI ignores incitement to hatred
By Damien Kiberd
In the bad old days of The Troubles there was a term coined called "selective horror". People were horrified by certain acts, but not by others.
Their choice of how to be horrified was primarily defined by their political allegiances and by their religious background.
A Catholic man was set upon by approximately a dozen men on Friday night. Some press reports suggest that he was stabbed repeatedly by a dozen men, other reports suggest that his head was simply kicked in. The assault took place between t near the Short Strand.
He is in hospital and his condition is described as "critical".
The Dublin based Sunday Independent, controlled by Sir Anthony O Reilly, devoted two column inches to this attack.
If you want to find out more about the victim don't look for it in the Dublin media. They don't want to know. The same newspaper has devoted an astonishing 900 column inches in a single edition to attacking the republican movement. It's not interested in the story if a Taig rambling home is carved up or kicked to death by loyalists on a footpath in Belfast
The victim of the Short Strand attack is 29 years of age and has not been named in the media.
I hope he recovers from his injuries and soon.
This was not the outcome of the case recently when a 15-year-old schoolboy was knifed to death by loyalists recently apparently because he was a Catholic. The loyalists were out walking the dog and simply decided to carry out a sectarian slaying. It's as casual as that. The same newspapers that have sent an army of reporters to probe the killing of Robert McCartney (and correctly so) don't want to know about talented 15-year-old boys who were doing brilliantly in school but who foolishly went to the sweetshop too late one night. On Saturday night all hell broke loose in Belfast and in most of the major urban areas in Antrim.
Loyalists used automatic rifles to fire upon the police. Large numbers of cars and vans were hijacked and torched. Blast bombs were thrown. Petrol bombs were thrown. Two civilians were shot, and at least a dozen police officers were injured. This is the peace process, post the IRA order to dump arms.
You could be a complete cynic and suggest that the orchesrated Orange riot is an attempt to derail the IRA plan to dump its weaponry. After all, how easy is it for republican leaders to argue the case for total decommissioning when people armed with sophisticated weapons are up the road, out of their heads on drugs, and involved in potentially murderous attacks?
Now the PSNI tried to stand up to the mobs at the weekend and the chief constable uttered some impressive words about "superb policing".
The British government has a fundamental problem here. If some loyalist thinks that he is entitled to kill a man with an automatic weapon because the Parades Commission decided his parade should be moved up the road by an aggregate distance of 124 metres, then there is a serious long-term issue here. Would you feel morally entitled to kill another man or woman because your route was adjusted by 124 metres?
There is a huge debate going on in Britain at present about the sort of violent attacks that are coming from within the Muslim community, almost all of which is law abiding. It is being argued that in certain places of worship people are being "fired-up" by preachers in a way that will cause young Muslim men to enrol is what they, presumably, regard as a revolutionary fight.
How do we know that this is not going on, right now, in churches across Ireland? How do we know if people are being told that their Catholic neighbours are being given everything they ask for, are making uncontrollable demands and will soon be in charge of the security forces?
How can we be sure that people are not referring to the Pope as the Antichrist? The Pope is almost certainly a very boring man from Bavaria who has deeply conservative views, but if you stood up in London and insulted the man in this way you might end up in court.
The Catholic Mass at Harryville had to be cancelled at the weekend because the parish priest felt it was too dangerous for local Catholics to travel to the church. Should we be surprised, even if this is the year 2005?
Does the incitement to race hatred law mean anything in the six counties? We do not appear to take this isssue seriously here. The charters and rules and regulations of the so-called loyal organisations are blatantly sectarian, and in one case actually mandate that children born out of wedlock (that's 52 per cent of the children born in Limerick last year) be barred from membership.
In Dublin they have an Equality Authority that might deal with this sort of thing There has been a lot of fundamental thinking going on within the republican movement in the last fifteen years, but there does not appear to have been a parallel development on the other side of the fence. Republicans have had to eat a lot of humble pie. The appetite for humble pie in other areas is apparently non-existent
There is a hugely irrational aspect to recent loyalist violence. It cannot be politically productive in the medium term.
Surely it is time for one of the younger generation of loyalist politicians to step forward and offer an alternative way out?
A sort of peace process perhaps?
Damien Kiberd is a writer and broadcaster. A presenter for Newstalk 106 in Dublin, he was previously editor of the Sunday Business Post.
Copyright © 2005 Daily Ireland
Tuesday-Thursday, 30 August-1 September, 2005
Flames of hate
By Irish Republican News
Two primary schools in Ballymena have been struck by unionist arsonists in a start-of-term message of hate.
The attempts to burn down St Louis' primary school in Ballymena and St Mary's primary school in nearby Harryville came within hours of each other on Tuesday night.
One room in St Louis' was gutted and ten others suffered smoke damage after flammable liquid was poured through a broken window on Tuesday.
Children who were supposed to start their first day at school will not now start until Monday as a clean-up operation gets under way at St Louis'.
The attacks ironically came on the same day that unionist paramilitaries in the area launched a campaign to promote their culture.
Bishop of Down and Connor Patrick Walsh, who visited St Louis' and St Mary's yesterday, called on political leaders to find a solution to the attacks.
"In this situation, party political interests must be set aside and all must be seen to stand for what is for the good of the entire community." Meanwhile, a Catholic family living in a mixed housing estate in County Antrim have been targeted for the second time in a month in a sectarian attack.
A mother and daughter were in their home in Bleach Green Avenue in Newtownabbey when three paint bombs smashed against the windows and walls at 11pm on Tuesday.
Three weeks ago, a van used by the family's business was gutted and two other Catholic houses in the estate were paint-bombed.
The family, who have also been coming to terms with the death of their father in April, had already decided to quit the home they have lived in for 29 years.
Sinn Fein is seeking a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern to discuss loyalist violence.
Meanwhile, DUP leader Ian Paisley, who is also North Antrim MP , said he condemned sectarianism but claimed that his word made no difference to loyalists involved in violence.
"These attacks ought to cease," he said. "But I am afraid that I would have no influence whatsoever with the people that are doing this".
North Antrim Sinn Fein representative Philip McGuigan urged Mr Paisley to use its influence to bring the sectarian attacks to a halt.
"Nowhere near enough is being done to bring these attacks to an end," he said. "Yesterday I listened to the MP for this constituency, Ian Paisley, say that he had no influence over those who are waging this campaign. I disagree with this assertion. Most nationalists and republicans think that Ian Paisley has a great deal of influence over the section of community that is carrying out these attacks.
"His party sits on forums elsewhere in the North with the UDA, the UVF and with other Unionist paramilitaries. Has this contact been used to ask them to stop attacking homes, chapels, and schools in north Antrim?" Catholics living in north Antrim have been the focus of a campaign of unionist intimidation and violence since the beginning of June.
In recent weeks, five Catholic churches and four Catholic primary schools have been targeted. Since July three Catholic families have been forced to flee the nearby village of Ahoghill after a series of fire and paint bomb attacks on their homes.
Sunday-Wednesday, 21-25 August, 2005
Sectarian nightmare
By Irish Republican News
It is feared that several nights of orchestrated rioting in north and east Belfast could be the precursor of weeks of sectarian interface violence.
Youths clashed for four nights this week in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast. The area has also endured another spate of distressing sectarian attacks on family homes, while a marathon rioting session also flared at an east Belfast interface.
Petrol and paint bombs and other missiles were thrown by more than 100 people in Ardoyne on Sunday and Monday night. A crossbow bolt was also fired at nationalists from the Glenbryn estate, a stronghold of the unionist paramilitary UDA.
Sinn Fein accused the UDA of involvement in the violence and warned their members were "flexing their muscles". Local councillor Margaret McClenaghan said PSNI police watched from their Land Rovers as community workers "were getting stoned from behind police lines".
The rioting was followed by spate of sectarian attacks. Paint bombs were thrown by youths at several nationalist homes in the Alliance Avenue and Ardoyne Road area at 11am on Wednesday morning. This followed a series of at least six attacks in north Belfast on Tuesday night, including some retaliatory attacks on the homes of unionists.
A three-month-old baby was showered with glass and paint and two other young children were also hurt during one attack on Catholic homes in the Cliftondene area.
The children's mother pleaded in vain with a group of four loyalist youths before her home came under fire from paint and petrol bombs. Windows were broken in the incident and paint and glass rained down on the children and their mother. A petrol bomb failed to ignite.
The gang escaped on foot leaving behind a crate of bottles filled with paint which had been meant to target more Catholic homes.
Last night, further clashes broke out in north Belfast, with petrol bombs and other missiles hurled by dozens of youths in the Brompton and Cranbrook areas. Sinn Fein has urged young nationalists not to get involved in the ongoing violence.
Meanwhile, nationalist residents of the Short Strand came under fire from missiles emanating from the unionist Cluan Place area on Monday. Some 400 nationalists and unionists were involved in eight hours of rioting at the Clandeboye Gardens/Cluan Place interface.
Residents of the nationalist enclave say they now fear a repetition of the summer of 2002, which saw the same interface endure months of violent sectarian clashes.
Up to five rounds were fired from the unionist Cluan Place during the violence, which erupted at around 6pm on Saturday and lasted until 2.30am on Sunday.
Strike marks were visible on the gable wall of a house in the nationalist Clandeboye Gardens. Broken bottles, bricks and a pipe bomb were also hurled over the peace wall.
Residents and politicians said simmering tensions between rival groups appeared to have reached boiling point on Saturday following a soccer game between Glasgow Celtic and Rangers.
Sinn Fein representative Deborah Devenney said the community had been under attack from loyalists since Wednesday.
"These people cannot live like this. They don't deserve to live like this. It's totally disgraceful. I am willing to talk to any unionist politician to try and resolve this," she said.
CEASEFIRE?
Meanwhile, the British government has come under pressure to declare obsolete the professed ceasefires of the unionist paramilitary UVF and UDA.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan expressed astonishment that British Direct Ruler Peter Hain has yet to give the assessment on the Ulster Volunteer Force - an organisation which has recently killed four men as part of its vicious feud with the splinter Loyalist Volunteer Force.
Mr Durkan pointed to recent death threats received by Raymond McCord, whose son was killed by the UVF in 1997 and who has been a vehement critic of the group, and the ongoing vendetta of the UDA against the Sunday World newspaper.
"It is demoralising for decent people that the secretary of state has remained speechless.
"He still will not say what everybody knows: that loyalist paramilitaries have broken their ceasefires.
"Just what is it that needs to happen before the Northern Ireland Office think that the UVF has broken its ceasefire. How many more killings does it take?"
* A major ferry line has banned Glasgow Rangers supporters from travelling as foot passengers to football games because of the sectarian behaviour of a number of fans returning from Glasgow to Belfast last Saturday.
According to Stena lines, passengers complained when some of the 500 Rangers fans returning from Saturday's soccer game against Celtic began to sing threatening songs.
One passenger later told BBC radio: "The supporters, they weren't even singing football songs, it was about killing Catholics, and named Catholics that have been shot dead."