A quiet night in Belfast as hopes grow of return to peace
Belfast was trouble-free on Wednesday night after two preceding days of rioting.
Talks between community representatives and police are believed to have gathered momentum, reinforced by the power-sharing executive’s First Minister and Deputy First Minister’s vow to investigate the affected communities’ main concerns.
On Thursday, police chief constable Matt Baggott will brief his Policing Board scrutiny committee of public representatives and independent members after three people were shot during the most serious violence in Northern Ireland for years.
Dissident republicans are suspected of firing live rounds which left a press photographer with a leg injury, while two other men suffered bullet wounds during two nights of violence.
A barrage of petrol bombs, missiles and fireworks was thrown at security force lines on Tuesday night, with two men suffering burn injuries and officers firing dozens of plastic bullets.
A 20-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and assaulting police.
On Wednesday night police arrested a 22-year-old man from west Belfast in connection with the troubles. A police spokeswoman said he was being questioned in Antrim.
Police said the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) had orchestrated the trouble.
