THREE PEOPLE ARE due in court today in connection with the violence in parts of Belfast last night.
There have been disturbances in the city centre and on its outskirts in recent days following a move by the local city council to restrict the flying of the Union flag at City Hall.
There were a total of eight arrests in the O’Neill’s Road area of Newtownabbey on the outskirts of Belfast overnight with a 17-yar-old charged with assault on police, disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest.
Seven others remain in custody while in a separate incident two men, aged 19 and 29, have been charged with public disorder in Belfast last night.
A number of Police Service of Northern Irlenad officers were injured in the violence last night.
Watch a UTV Live news report from last night:
YouTube: Computergirls1985
Loyalists plan further protests in Belfast city centre later today but they have been urged not to do so on what is expected to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
The city’s Christmas Market remains open but there will be extra security in place, BBC News says.
The latest violence comes as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday condemned the unrest on a visit to the North where she met with First Minister Peter Robinson and his deputy Martin McGuinness.
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