Police officers were attacked with petrol bombs and bricks during a third night of unrest in Northern Ireland.
The violence broke out at the Cloughfern roundabout in Newtownabbey and in the North Road area of nearby Carrickfergus.
According to the police, a small protest by unionists angered by perceived post-Brexit barriers between the country and the rest of the United Kingdom broke out on Friday night but soon turned into an attack on officers.
Over the weekend, about 30 Molotov cocktails were thrown at police during protests.
Molotov Sets Protester on fire in Northern Ireland - pic.twitter.com/KTvhgQDnxC
— Tony (@Mrtdogg) April 5, 2021
These are not anti-lockdown protest in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They're loyalist youths angry over post-Brexit trading arrangements and a controversy over a decision not to prosecute Sinn Fein politicians. pic.twitter.com/diokDSNmyD
— Cuisine Royale (@CuisineRoyale2) April 5, 2021
The police described the events as a "staged attack". A total of eight people were arrested in connection with the riots. Four of them - men 18, 21, and 25 years old and a 19-year-old girl - will stand trial on charges of organising the riots.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis Brandon Lewis called the scenes of chaos "completely unacceptable". He said violence was never the answer and there was no place for it in society.
