CHILDREN as young as eight took part in a third night of “recreational rioting with a sinister edge” in Northern Ireland, a police chief said.
The violence surrounding the July 12 Orange Order marches over the past few days left 82 officers injured, Sky News reported.
The disturbances peaked in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast on Monday night, when 55 police officers were wounded as they were attacked with gasoline bombs.
Officers eventually used batons and water cannon to contain rioters.
Chief Constable Matt Baggott blamed dissident republicans opposed to the peace process for stoking tensions and called for a “big debate” on keeping the peace. Republicans support Northern Ireland breaking away from the UK and reuniting with Ireland.
The police chief said teenagers and children as young as eight were involved in the riots.
On Sunday night, three officers in Belfast were blasted with pellets by a man carrying a shotgun.
One of the worst incidents took place in Ardoyne, where there were fears for the life of a female police officer after she was struck over the head with a concrete block.
She is now in stable condition in the hospital.
In Londonderry, 116km southeast of Belfast, a masked man shot at a police vehicle with a handgun, narrowly missing officers who were sitting inside.
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