Tensions rose in Northern Ireland on Sunday after thousands of protesters prevented a contentious Orange Order parade from proceeding through Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
The demonstrators, some wearing balaclavas, gathered along the road after the High Court in Belfast ruled in the early hours of Sunday that the parade could proceed.
The decision allowed the Orange Order, for the first time in nearly three decades, to march along Garvaghy Road, a route that became a major flashpoint between Northern Ireland’s nationalist and unionist communities during the years of the Troubles.
The conflict, which largely ended following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, claimed about 3,600 lives and left roughly 50,000 people injured.
Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom, with Irish nationalists, most of whom are Catholic, generally supporting reunification with the Republic of Ireland, while unionists, who are predominantly Protestant, support maintaining the region’s place within the UK.
Amid concerns that the parade could reignite tensions, political figures across the divide called for restraint, with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham among those urging people not to escalate the situation.
Police Service of Northern Ireland chief Jon Boutcher also appealed for calm, saying, “I am hoping we will bring all of today’s events to a sensible and peaceful conclusion.”
Boutcher said there had been many “sensible voices” calling for calm which he thought had been “listened to by all parties.”
