More trouble on Limestone Road
Three nationalists were injured in a blast bomb explosion as trouble flared in the Limestone Road area of North Belfast on Monday 13 August.
On Monday afternoon at about 3pm, loyalists from the Tiger's Bay area attacked a busload of children as they returned from a fun day out at Bangor as part of a local festival.
Sinn Féin's Cathy Stanton said that although there had been sporadic trouble during the day between young people from Tiger's Bay and nationalists from the Limestone Road area, the worst of the fighting started when the loyalists attacked the bus. According to Stanton, the loyalists then moved on up the Limestone and attacked houses in Newington Street and Parkside.
``It was only when these gangs of loyalists bombarded the houses in Newington Street with missiles that the nationalist residents came out to defend their property. As usual the RUC sat and watched as the loyalists attacked these homes and only moved in, facing the Catholics, when they moved to defend themselves.''
It was at this point that a blast bomb was thrown from the loyalist side. It exploded injuring three people - two teenagers suffered shock, while an adult was taken to hospital with shrapnel wounds.
RUC provoked Ballymena trouble
Sinn Féin's Philip McGuigan is blaming the RUC for provoking a night of violence in the Fisherwick Estate in Ballymena.
The estate is the only mainly nationalist estate in the town and has seen loyalist violence over the past month and a DUP-inspired picket because nationalists dared fly a Tricolour.
On Saturday, according to McGuigan, the RUC came into the estate and arrested a man at a bonfire site and during the day a steady stream of RUC patrols was in and out of the estate.
``All they were doing was raising tension in the place,'' said McGuigan. ``That night, when the bonfire was lit, the RUC again came into the estate, this time wearing riot gear and shining search lights at people gathered at the fire. The people just basically reacted to what they saw as provocation and started to stone and throw paint bombs at the RUC.''
McGuigan said that the RUC batoned charged the crowd and injured a number of men. Criticising the SDLP, who blamed the trouble on republicans, McGuigan said, ``the SDLP should have more sense than to run with a unionist line, especially given the abuse, including a pipe bomb campaign, that has been directed at Catholics over the past number of years but which has intensified in recent months''.
Loyalists attack Ballynahinch teenagers
Eight masked loyalists wielding baseball bats and iron bars attacked a number of teenagers in a fast food restaurant in Ballynahinch on Tuesday 14 August.
The group of eight teenagers, aged around 14, had just come back from a party in Newcastle.
Most of the group escaped but three were cornered in the chippy and beaten. One was a Protestant lad, who suffered severe bruising and felt dizzy after the attack.
Sinn Féin Francie Braniff told An Phoblacht that the loyalists were grown men cruising the town looking for someone to attack. The loyalists were using three cars, one of which was parked in the street, and when the teenagers were spotted the others came from the car park behind the White Horse night club and set about the teenagers.
Braniff also warned nationalists in the Drumaness area to be vigilant as loyalists had attempted to abduct a mother of five in the area two weeks before.
The woman was returning from a night out when two known loyalists followed her in a car. When the woman became suspicious she ran to a nearby house and banged on the door. The loyalists then sped off.
The following week, on 28 July, a 15-year-old boy had been targeted by loyalists but spotted them in time. Braniff says loyalists have also been cruising the area of the Drumaness GAA club looking for people.
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