Four men have been remanded in custody following rioting in Ardoyne
Four men from Belfast have been remanded in custody after appearing in court in connection with the riots which followed contentious marches around the Ardoyne shops on the 12 July.
They are Aiden McCrory, 25, of Eglantine Avenue, Gary Martin, 41, of Benview Drive, Dean Cromie, 18, of Alliance Road and Michael McDonnell, 23, of Ardoyne Road.
Twenty police officers were injured and up to 10 shots fired at police after trouble flared overnight.
It followed two parades along a stretch of road dividing Catholic and Protestant communities.
The first parade was by a small group of Orangemen returning from the annual Twelfth of July celebrations.
The second was by a nationalist group opposed to the parade.
Petrol bombs and bricks were thrown at police lines by both nationalists and loyalists.
‘No Excuse’
After midnight shots were also fired from the nationalist side but no police officers were hit.
Police fired six plastic bullets and used water cannon on the crowds. None of the injuries caused to police officers were serious.
PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said those involved had no reason to attack the police.
“There is no excuse for rioting and violence, albeit it was contained in a relatively small area of Northern Ireland,” he said.
“We will be bringing many people to court in the days that follow.
“In time, we will have to understand more about why some parts of Northern Ireland are falling behind and that’s a challenge for us all, politicians, police and community alike.”
Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr said the community needed to call a halt to the violence.
“I am angry that we have these three days of annual madness where it seems that everybody thinks the peacekeepers are a legitimate target,” he said.
“We will be making a significant number of arrests, as we did last year, over the course of the next weeks and months to make sure that people are placed before the courts and answer for their decisions.”
