Ministers in the Stormont Executive have been urged to speak with a united voice in condemning rioting that has erupted in Northern Ireland.
The call from the Police Federation, the body that represents rank and file officers, came ahead of a meeting of the powersharing administration to discuss the escalating public order situation in the region.
The Stormont Assembly is also being recalled from Easter recess for an emergency sitting later on Thursday morning to debate the violence, which has mostly flared in loyalist areas.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Roberts said 55 police officers have been injured across several nights of disorder in Northern Ireland.
Bus hijacked and set on fire as violence continues in Belfast A BUS was hijacked and set on fire yesterday evening after another evening of violence in Belfast. The Northern Ireland Executive is to meet today, Thursday, April 8, to be briefed on the ongoing unrest seen over the last week. Wednesday night saw a bus hijacked and set on fire, a press photographer assaulted and clashes between loyalists and nationalists at peace line street that links the Shankill Road with the Springfield Road in west Belfast. First Minister Arlene Foster condemned the violence and said: This is not protest. This is vandalism and attempted murder.
Moment Belfast rioters hijack and firebomb bus to turn it into terrifying weapon in Northern Ireland
Updated: 8 Apr 2021, 14:40
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THIS is the moment Belfast rioters hijack and firebomb a bus to turn it into a terrifying weapon.
A hooded man was filmed hurling a lit petrol bomb in through the open bus door after the handbrake was removed and it rolled, flaming, down the street.
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A man walks past a hijacked bus burning on the Shankill RoadCredit: Reuters
Cheers rang out as the bottle exploded inside the bus, with the fireball moving down the road surrounded by rioters.
Windows were smashed in as flames spread throughout the inside of the bus and it gathered speed.
The UK Prime Minister and Irish premier have made a joint call for calm after days of unrest in Northern Ireland.
Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Micheal Martin spoke over the phone on Thursday about the violent clashes in mainly loyalist areas over the last week.
In a statement, the Irish Government said the two leaders stressed that violence was unacceptable.
The PSNI use a water cannon on the Springfield road, during further unrest in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)
“The way forward is through dialogue and working the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement,” the statement said.
“They agreed that the two governments would continue to stay in contact.”
55 police officers injured during week of disorder in Northern Ireland PSNI officers and Land Rovers on the nationalist side of the Springfield Road in Belfast after dispersing people from the area, following further unrest. Picture date: Wednesday April 7, 2021. David Young and James Ward, PA 08 April, 2021 08:51
PSNI officers stand behind a Land Rovers on the nationalist side of the Springfield Road in Belfast after dispersing people from the area, following further unrest. Picture date: Wednesday April 7, 2021.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Roberts said a total of 55 police officers have been injured across several nights of disorder in Northern Ireland.
He said several hundred people gathered on each side of the peace wall gate at Lanark Way in west Belfast from around 5pm yesterday, which escalated to “significant disorder where crowds from both sides of the gate were committing serious criminal offences, both a