As Northern Ireland reached the climax of the Ulster loyalist marching season, police reported that 24 officers had been injured in violence surrounding the parades.

There was a new, serious outbreak of violence in north Belfast on Tuesday night with police firing dozens of baton rounds and using water cannon in clashes with nationalist youths.

The trouble erupted within minutes of an Orange Order parade passing by shops in the Ardoyne district shortly after 7pm. Disorder spread across the city. Although the police were able to pin back rioters and keep them away from loyalists in the contentious parade, trouble broke out shortly afterwards on the Crumlin Road.

Two different sets of protesters attacked riot police at two entry points into the republican Ardoyne area. Police officers were pelted with bricks, rocks, bottles and petrol bombs as well as fireworks. One group of rioters set fire to a hijacked car at the junction of Crumlin Road and Woodvale Road, not far from where a smaller group of loyalists were standing, in Twaddell Avenue.

On Monday, 24 police officers were injured, the majority as a result of riots in Greater Belfast that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday. Nationalist youths threw missiles, petrol bombs and at one stage drove a hijacked bus at police lines.

The Greater Ardoyne Residents' Collective had been denied the right to gather on Crumlin Road – the return route of the Orange parade – on Tuesday night. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) feared the residents would mount a sitdown protest on the road to block the Orangemen's path.

As loyalists marched through Belfast city centre, the republican residents began to protest along Berwick Road against the Orange parade passing by their district. When the Orangemen and two loyalist bands passed by, a number of nationalist women sang the Soldier's Song (the Irish national anthem) and hurled abuse at the marchers.

Speaking from the platform, Dee Fennell – a spokesman for the residents' group – initially called on the crowd to disperse peacefully. When a large number of those gathered at the protest started to laugh, Fennell said they would "show the Orange Order, the Parades Commission and the PSNI what they thought of their parade".

Gerry Kelly, the Sinn Féin assembly member for the area and former IRA Old Bailey bomber, said he was concerned at the rising tension in this corner of north Belfast. "We have a situation where we have two parades at one time," he said.

While Kelly and Sinn Féin oppose the loyalist march, they have appealed for peaceful protests against the parade.

He condemned those nationalist youths behind the violence but also blamed the Orange Order for failing to reach a compromise with Catholic residents along contentious parade routes.

There were clashes in other parts of Northern Ireland on Tuesday night, including Derry and Armagh. Police in Derry arrested a youth aged 14 on suspicion of riotous behaviour and recovered a crate of petrol bombs.

On the same spot last year in north Belfast, about 80 PSNI officers were injured during three days of rioting that followed protests against the loyalist parade.

A small number of republican dissidents opposed to the peace process gathered in Ardoyne, an area that is home to a unit of the anti-ceasefire republican organisation Óghlaigh na hÉireann.

North Belfast Democratic Unionist MP Nigel Dodds condemned the rioters. "These people have been intent on attacking the police and wreaking havoc in their own community," he said. "Such violence is senseless and has clearly nothing to do with protesting against a parade but is just futile rioting."

He praised Orangemen for how they marshalled their parade. "I also pay tribute to those in the nationalist community who worked to try to maintain peace in the area," he said.

One of Northern Ireland's most senior police officers appealed for calm.

Assistant Chief Constable Alistair Finlay said the public disorder that has taken place in pockets of North Belfast, East Belfast, Londonderry, and other parts of Northern Ireland was unacceptable. Finlay said: "The past 24 hours has been a very challenging time for communities and policing in Northern Ireland."

The first leg of the parade passed off relatively peacefully on Tuesday morning. Amid driving rain and the drone of a police helicopter overhead, the Orangemen and two loyalist bands were accompanied by two rows of protesters shortly before 8.30am. As marchers reached the Protestant Twaddell Avenue, they were given a heroes' reception by local loyalists.

The loyalists marched behind a banner accusing local republicans of imposing "cultural apartheid" due to their continued opposition to the Orange Order march.

In the early hours of Tuesday, plastic bullets were fired and water cannon was deployed to deal with a mob of up to 200 youths in the Broadway area in the west of Belfast.

The rioters attacked police lines separating the area from the loyalist Village district close to the M1 motorway.

Baton rounds were fired during disturbances in the Oldpark area of north Belfast close to the so-called peaceline separating nationalist and loyalist communities.

A bus was hijacked on the Falls Road with the driver dragged from the vehicle and passengers ordered off it. It was then driven at police lines on the Donegall Road, but crashed a short distance away. A van was also set alight on the Donegall Road.