MASKED yobs hurled petrol bombs and fireworks at cops for a fifth night in Northern Ireland, in what has been dubbed a “week of shame” for the region.
Cops battled another night of violence as thugs continued to cause widespread devastation after the chaos began on Monday.
The unrest began on Monday in Ballymena over the alleged sexual assault of a girl in the town and the subsequent arrest of two 14-year-old boys.
But the focus of the violence and unrest has since shifted to Portadown.
One officer was directly in the impact of a petrol bomb that landed behind a line of police vehicles during a sustained standoff with those participating in the unrest yesterday.
Fireworks, masonry, and bottles were among other items thrown at riot police deployed in the town.
Shortly before midnight cops used a water cannon on the crowd in an effort to disperse those gathered on West Street into other areas.
The force used the water cannon again at around 12.30am on Saturday.
Incidents have also occurred in other towns – Larne Leisure Centre was set on fire on Wednesday, while a man, woman, and four children escaped an arson attack on a house in Coleraine in the early hours of Friday.
Elsewhere on Friday, there were reports of disruption and damage to public property as riot police responded to another protest in the Tullyally area of Londonderry.
It came after a senior officer said there would be a “scaled-up” policing presence across Northern Ireland in anticipation of further disorder over the weekend.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the mobilisation, which would include officers sent over from Scotland, was “to reassure our communities and protect our streets”.
Violence originally erupted on Monday, stemming from an initially peaceful gathering to support a girl and her family after an alleged sexual assault.
Two 14-year-old boys appeared in court charged with attempted rape on Monday.
A third man, 28, was also arrested over the alleged sexual assault.
The boys confirmed their names – which cannot be reported – and their ages through a Romanian interpreter at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court.
But within hours of their court appearance, disorder broke out in Co Antrim.
Families in the town of Ballymena have been forced to flee their homes as the riots continue.
Crowds set fire to piles of furniture in the middle of the streets, homes were set alight, and multiple cars went up in flames.
Harrowing photos from the last two nights show the charred remains of residents’ property.
Footage showed masked and hooded rioters lobbing petrol bombs, fireworks and bricks at cops trying to calm the unrest on Tuesday.
Officers fired baton rounds and water cannon in a desperate bid to keep the mobs at bay.
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