Violence has broken out between police and protesters in Northern Ireland where properties have been damaged and missiles have been thrown at officers.
Officers were “dealing with public disorder in Ballymena town centre” in Co Armagh, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement on Monday evening, adding the unrest “followed an earlier protest in the area”.
PSNI said “a number of missiles have been thrown towards police with damage reported to a number of properties”.
Local MP Jim Allister said tensions over immigration had been building for some time, adding that the violence followed a peaceful protest in support of the family of a girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault at the weekend.
Two 14-year-old boys were charged with attempted rape and were remanded in custody when they appeared at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday. The charges were read to them by a Romanian interpreter.
Police have appealed for calm and told people to “avoid the Clonavon Road area until further notice”.
Local media estimated around 2,500 protesters were involved in the disturbances, which some dubbed “anti-immigrant”.
Videos of the incident on social media showed a large police presence, with officers in riot gear taking shelter behind a police Land Rover as a fire burned close by.
In other footage, protesters burned plastic road barriers and bins as part of a barricade on the street and masked individuals threw missiles including cans of paint and glass bottles at PSNI vehicles.
A line of police vehicles advanced towards the protesters followed by officers on foot.
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Firefighters later responded to the burning debris on the road and inspected a nearby house which had filled with smoke.
Video also appeared to show some protesters targeting houses by smashing windows.
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Pictures of the disorder included one of a boat overturned outside a row of houses which appeared to have been those attacked by a mob.
Sky News has contacted PSNI for comment.
