Policemen Hurt In Derry Trouble
There has been further trouble at a sectarian interface in Londonderry.
Wednesday’s violence was the sixth night in a row that rival groups threw stones and other missiles at Nailors Row, close to the Bishop Street-Fountain area.
Last night, three youths aged between 11 and 13 were arrested after police continued to take action to stem the interface confrontation.
One officer was injured during the sectarian clashes as a result – the second such incident where injuries were sustained by the PSNI this week.
Last night, the officer was hit on the leg and chest with missiles again thrown during trouble at the sectarian interface.
One of the youths arrested afterwards has since been reported to the Youth Diversion Officer. The other two were released on bail.
On Monday, two policemen were injured when they were hit with bricks thrown from Nailor’s Row. Petrol bombs were also thrown.
The police are meanwhile studying CCTV footage of the rival groups who have been throwing stones and other missiles since last Friday.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster this morning, Hazel Swartz, who is in charge of a local retirement home, Alexander House, said her residents were “being terrorised”.
One man in his 70s escaped barely injury after the window of his sheltered accommodation on Bishop Street was smashed last Friday.
“This is their home and some of them are scared to even sit in their rooms in case a window comes in round them.”
It has also been reported that, on Sunday, a taxi driver suffered bruising to his arm after a large stone was thrown through the open window of his vehicle on Bishop Street.
At the time, a 42-year-old man was arrested and charged with disorderly behaviour while four other men were arrested on Tuesday but released on bail.
The area in question is the loyalist Fountain – which is the last remaining Protestant estate on the predominantly Catholic west bank of the River Foyle.
