Calls for calm after night of trouble in Londonderry sparked by removal of materials from anti-internment bonfire
Elected representatives have called for calm after a night of unrest in Londonderry during which a car was hijacked and set alight and a teenager received facial injuries when she was hit with flying debris from the burning vehicle.
Trouble flared not long after material was removed the site of an anti-internment bonfire on Department for Infrastructure owned land at Linear Park in the Galliagh area.
Police attended several reports of disturbances including bricks and petrol bombs being thrown at a buses, two attempts to set vans alight and various other items being dragged onto the road and set alight.
The most serious of the incidents came at around 10.30pm on Monday night when a man was dragged from his car and struck on the head before the vehicle was set alight.
The subsequent fire led to a teenager sustaining facial injuries which will require surgery. Police say she was walking in Knockalla Park last night when she was hit with debris from the burning vehicle.
In a separate incident, arson is suspected at a house at Bonds Street in the Waterside. Police said a window was broken at around 11pm last night and an accelerant was used to start the fire.
The house was unoccupied at the time and there are no reports of any injuries, however, damage has been caused to the house.
Local MLA Gary Middleton said no one wants to see an escalation of the violence: “There can be no excuse for the criminality and violence which occurred in the Galliagh area last night.
"No one should want to see such scenes repeated or escalate over the coming days and it is important there is leadership from across the community. Those involved are causing damage to their own area."Whilst progress has been made in some parts of the city there have been concerns for some time that problems could occur.”
The DUP man added that tensions had been stirring with the thefts of items for the bonfire: “It must be made clear that there can be no place for the burning of wreaths, flags or any other item on bonfires, but the theft of poppy wreaths from the cenotaph a few weeks ago and recent posts on social media appear to indicate that this may occur.”
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Patricia Logue, has appealed for those involved in public disorder in the Galliagh area of the city to consider the impact of their actions on their community.
“I am deeply disappointed to learn of the unacceptable scenes that unfolded in Galliagh yesterday and in the early hours of this morning,” she said.
“It has caused significant distress to those affected and I would appeal to those responsible to bring it to an end now before they cause any more damage and upset to their community.
“No one should ever feel unsafe in their homes or when travelling in their cars and now is a time for calm and restraint to allow people in the area to recover.”