Rioters clash with Belfast police

Police fired tear gas and plastic bullets at Catholic youths during rioting in the Northern Irish city of Belfast on Tuesday.

Some of the rioters threw stones and petrol bombs at the police, who also responded with water cannons.

The clashes erupted when a Protestant parade passed through their estate in Ardoyne, northern Belfast.

The marches are held each year by the Orange Order to mark King William of Orange’s victory over Roman Catholic King James in the Battle of Boyne in 1690.

That military success helped to secure Protestant supremacy in Ireland.

But since then, a peace accord and power sharing between the two communities has failed to prevent tribal clashes over marching rights.

Last year, there were several days of rioting in the same area of Belfast where the cost of policing came to nearly half a million euros.

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