Crews Repair Damage After Night of Unrest in Belfast

Crews worked to carry out repairs in Belfast on Thursday, April 8, following a night of violent unrest in Northern Ireland’s capital city.

This footage shows repairs underway on a so-called peace wall at Lanark Way in west Belfast, where a bus was hijacked and set ablaze. Peace walls, a series of separation barriers, were originally erected to separate Irish nationalist and Ulster unionist communities.

Eight police officers were injured after coming under attack during clashes on Wednesday night, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. “At times there were upwards of 600 people present,” PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Roberts said. “Petrol bombs, bottles, masonry, and fireworks were thrown during scenes of violent disorder.”

Protests escalated in the city in early April amid tension over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade arrangements and following a decision not to prosecute Sinn Féin politicians accused of breaching coronavirus regulations for attending a funeral. Credit: @CaoimhinBelfast via Storyful