Molotov cocktails thrown at police vehicles, after six men face court over separate parade

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Police in Northern Ireland have been attacked with petrol bombs and other missiles after they tried to stop an illegal dissident Irish republican parade.



Gangs of youths threw Molotov cocktails, stones, bricks and bottles at police vehicles as the march by the Derry 1916 Committee got under way.



The trouble centred on the Creggan district of Derry, where a march to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising was led by masked men in paramilitary uniforms.



The Police Service of Northern Ireland attempted to intervene in the demonstration, as it did on Holy Saturday when six men were arrested at another illegal republican parade, in Lurgan.



Trouble also broke out at a cemetery in Derry, where PSNI Land Rovers were pelted with missiles and petrol bombs. There are no reports of anyone being hurt in the violence.



The Derry 1916 Committee had refused to notify the Parades Commission about the planned parade.

Earlier on Monday the six arrested at Saturday’s parade appeared in court in Lisburn.

That demonstration was organised by Republican Sinn Féin, a hardline Sinn Féin faction that is aligned with the Continuity IRA.



The six faced charges including taking part in an illegal procession and wearing clothing and having articles as supporters of a banned organisation.



The six were granted bail and the case will be heard again later this month at Craigavon court.