Belfast march stays peaceful

A tense armed forces homecoming parade has passed off without incident in Belfast. Police mounted a huge security operation to keep apart thousands of loyalist supporters and republican protestors. At one stage the two sides came within yards of each other and riot police had to move quickly to prevent violence erupting on the route of the march as loyalists charged their lines. Bottles and fireworks were thrown but the parade of 250 service personnel, which took minutes to pass, was free of any trouble - much to the relief of security chiefs and public representatives who feared massive disorder. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) superintendent Nigel Grimshaw said: "At the end of the day those who wished to protest were able to protest and those who wished to support the parade were able to do that. "Clearly tensions were quite high but I am satisfied that nobody was seriously hurt." Ahead of the event, thousands of loyalists waving Union flags and singing pro-British songs, had massed behind barriers just yards from where a planned Sinn Fein protest was due to arrive from the west of the city. Some climbed scaffolding on a church building to gain a better vantage point. And when the republicans moved into position minutes before the parade was due to pass the situation came dangerously close to boiling over. A number of loyalists surged toward the demonstrators, prompting riot police to swoop in armoured Land Rovers. While loyalists and officers were involved in some minor scuffles a direct clash with republicans was averted.

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ITN | November 2, 2008

Tags:. .UK News. .singing. .pro. .psni. .grimshaw