Belfast Violence Erupts Ahead of Marching Season

June 22, 2011 from Euronews

Sectarian violence erupted for a second night in Northern Ireland, where a press photographer was shot in the leg. Police said around 700 people threw fireworks and petrol bombs in the capital Belfast. The clashes come at the start of Northern Ireland's marching season, a time of annual parades by Protestants which has triggered violent protests by Catholics in the past. On the previous night youths fought in a Catholic enclave within the predominantly Protestant east side of the city.

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Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It is variously described as a country, province or region of the UK, amongst other terms. Northern Ireland shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. As of 20... Explore this topic

Sectarian Violence

Sectarian violence and/or sectarian strife is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation/community. Religious segregation often plays a role in sectarian violence. Explore this topic

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of, and largest city in, Northern Ireland. Most of Belfast is in County Antrim, but parts of East and South Belfast are in County Down. It is on the flood plain of the River Lagan. By population, it is the fourteenth largest city in the United Kingdom an... Explore this topic

UVF

The Ulster Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in late 1965 or early 1966 and named after the Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British soldier. The group's volunteers undertook an armed ... Explore this topic

Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a military-esque force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces. Under the Law of Armed Conflict, a state may incorporate a paramilitary organization or ... Explore this topic

Protestant

Protestantism is one of the major divisions within Christianity. It has been defined as "any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, a... Explore this topic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase καθόλου, meaning "on the whole", "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words κατά meaning "about" and όλος meaning "whole". The word in English can mean either "including a wide variety of thin... Explore this topic

Short Strand

The Short Strand is an area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a mainly Catholic and Irish nationalist enclave surrounded by the mainly Protestant and unionist East Belfast. It is on the east bank of the River Lagan in the townland of Ballymacarret, which is part of County Do... Explore this topic

Parades in Northern Ireland

Parades are an important part of Northern Irish culture. Although the majority of parades are held ostensibly by Protestant, unionist or Ulster loyalist groups, nationalist, republican and non-political groups also parade. Parading is often considered to be an assertion of a g... Explore this topic

Molotov cocktail

The Molotov cocktail is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons. Due to the relative ease of production, they are frequently used by amateur protesters and non-professionally equipped fighters in urban guerrilla warfares. They are primarily intended ... Explore this topic

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Northern Ireland

Sectarian Violence

Belfast

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