Belfast Flag Violence: Police Officer Hurt

One police officer has been injured and taken to hospital during pockets of disorder in east Belfast.

It comes as a loyalist protest attended by about 2,000 people outside City Hall in the centre of Belfast passed off peacefully.

The demonstration against new restrictions on flying the Union flag at City Hall ended after about an hour with a rendition of God Save the Queen.

Up to 20 police armoured Land Rovers were lined up on either side of the building while officers in full riot gear with dogs could be seen in the courtyard.

A protest in Belfast passed off peacefully but there was violence elsewhere

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said protesters had dispersed, but there was some disorder in east Belfast and a section of the Newtownards Road was closed.

Violence erupted when councillors in Belfast voted to limit the number of days the Union flag could be flown over the City Hall to 17 days a year.

A death threat against the MP Naomi Long, whose Alliance Party tabled a compromise agreement on the issue, led to an escalation in the seriousness of the tensions.

Around 2,000 people joined the protest in Belfast city centre

Last night, eight police officers were injured and more than a dozen people arrested - including a 13-year-old boy - during clashes between loyalists and riot police.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr said loyalist paramilitaries had been orchestrating some of the violence seen in the past 24 hours.

"Violence has serious and unwanted consequences for us all and we will robustly investigate all incidents," he said.

"I am urging everyone to be calm, take a step back and think about how this violence is affecting not just their own communities but the whole of Northern Ireland."

The Christmas market in Belfast city centre had been temporarily closed but later re-opened.

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