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Police officers injured in Union flag riots
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carry out a protest in Great Victoria Street, Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carryi out a protest on Great Victoria Street, Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carry out a protest in the Sandy Row are of south Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carryi out a protest on Great Victoria Street, Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carry out a protest in the Sandy Row are of south Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carry out a protest in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th January 2013 - General view of Loyalists carrying out a protest in the Sandy Row are of south Belfast this evening.Loyalists have been protesting across Northern Ireland after Belfast City Council restricted the number of days the Union Flag can fly over Belfast City Hall.Picture by Kelvin Byes / Press Eye.
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Nick Williams goes over to score for Ulster, tackled by Glasgow's Josh Strauss
Darren Kidd
Ulster's Nick Williams celebrates scoring his try
©INPHO/Presseye/Darren Kidd
Ulster's Jared Payne celebrates scoring a late try with Paul Marshall
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Jared Payne scores for Ulster
Darren Kidd
Ulster's Craig Gilroy is tackled by Glasgow's Tom Ryder and Duncan Weir
Darren Kidd
Ulster's Tom Court celebrates after the game
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carry out a protest in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th January 2013 - General view of disturbances in O'Neills Road Newtownabbey this evening.Loyalists have been protesting across Northern Ireland after Belfast City Council restricted the number of days the Union Flag can fly over Belfast City Hall.Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 11th January 2013 - General view of disturbances in O'Neills Road Newtownabbey this evening.Loyalists have been protesting across Northern Ireland after Belfast City Council restricted the number of days the Union Flag can fly over Belfast City Hall.Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
General view of disturbances in O'Neill's Road, Newtownabbey last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carryi out a protest on Great Victoria Street, Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
Loyalists carry out a protest in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast last night
Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
/
Four police officers have been injured in another night of loyalist rioting linked to the Union flag row.
One of the officers required hospital treatment as some protests again turned ugly.
The most serious disorder was witnessed in Carrickfergus and the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey, both on the northern outskirts of Belfast.
Police were attacked with 33 petrol bombs, as well as masonry and other missiles. Vehicles were set on fire.
Officers fired five baton rounds and deployed water cannon to restore calm.
Two arrests were made.
A small viable pipe bomb device was found on the Westlink dual carriageway in Belfast but it was unclear whether it was linked to the loyalist disorder.
Around 70 police officers have been injured and more than 100 people arrested in six weeks of trouble since Belfast City Council limited the number of days the Union flag flies over Belfast City Hall.
A PSNI spokesman said: "Police will continue to pursue a vigorous evidence gathering operation to bring those involved in the violence to justice."
There were widespread demonstrations across Northern Ireland tonight in co-ordinated action dubbed Operation Standstill by organisers. Police said most of the protests were peaceful.
Many roads were blocked off between 6pm and 8pm as protesters again took to the streets to voice their opposition at the flag decision.
Rugby fans travelling to Ravenhill in east Belfast for Ulster's crunch Heineken Cup game against Glasgow faced major disruption due to the pickets.
But the city centre was not as empty as might have been expected after an online campaign urged people to defy the protests and stage an Operation Sit-in in cafes, pubs and restaurants to give businesses hit by the six-week campaign of street action a much-needed boost to trade.
The Democratic Unionist Party and Progressive Unionist Party have both submitted challenges in Belfast council over the decision to restrict the flying of the flag.
They claim the move contravened its equality policy.
A Belfast City Council spokeswoman said: "The decision to introduce the policy of flying the Union flag at City Hall was taken democratically by elected members at the monthly meeting of Belfast City Council on December 3.
"The council has taken legal advice throughout this process and the decision is in keeping with the outcome of the equality impact assessment that was undertaken in line with the advice of the Equality Commission.
"The designated days agreed are in keeping with those notified by the UK Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport."
Earlier today, one of Northern Ireland's most senior Protestant ministers called on loyalists to end "intolerable" attacks on police.
Presbyterian Moderator Dr Roy Patton said: "The situation being faced by the police is intolerable and in keeping order on our streets and bringing people before the courts the PSNI must have the full support of all who want to see an end to this violence."
Unionist politicians have tried to find common ground by setting by a forum to consider ways to move beyond demonstrations, but they have insisted it was not a step towards a single unionist party.
Belfast Telegraph
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