Police attacked with petrol bombs after dissident republican parade
Police have been attacked with petrol bombs and fireworks after a dissident republican parade in Londonderry.
A senior police officer said young people were used to 'shield the masked individuals' during the disorder in what she said was 'child criminal exploitation'.
Two men, aged 30 and 55, were arrested under the Terrorism Act and taken to Musgrave Street Station for questioning.
A van and a number of items were also seized.
The annual parade in Derry, which marks the Easter Rising against British rule in Dublin in 1916, involved a colour party of men carrying flags and wearing paramilitary-style uniforms with their faces covered.
The march, which started in the Creggan estate, concluded with speeches at Free Derry corner in the Bogside area of the city.
Nearby, a crowd of mostly young people threw several petrol bombs and fireworks at police vehicles stationed close to the city's historic walls overlooking the Bogside.
The area was closed to the public for a period during the disorder.
The dissident republican event has sparked similar scenes of violence in previous years.
In a change of approach from recent years, the organisers of the parade – the National Republican Commemoration Committee – had applied to the Parades Commission for permission for the Easter Monday event.
In its determination allowing the march to proceed, the commission explicitly prohibited the wearing of paramilitary-style clothes and flags linked to proscribed organisations.
Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney, area commander of Derry City & Strabane, called the involvement of young people an 'utterly shameful' attempt to distract and shield masked individuals.
'Despite the claim by organisers of today's Easter Monday parade who said they wanted to hold a dignified commemoration, what we saw was the complete opposite,' she said.
'From the commencement of the parade to when it dispersed, we saw masked individuals, which we believe at this time to be a breach of the Parades Commission determination.
'As these masked individuals made their way towards the dispersal point on Lecky Road, disorder developed in the area of Nailors Row from around 2.50pm.
'Petrol bombs, fireworks and masonry were thrown which resulted in nearby Bishop Street (Without) being closed for a time for public safety reasons.
Statement from the Area Commander of Derry City & Strabane, Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney, following an Easter parade today, Monday 21st April. https://t.co/UVBnSjY8sQ pic.twitter.com/qWEpyV12l4
— Police Derry City and Strabane (@PSNIDCSDistrict) April 21, 2025
'Members of the public were diverted away from that area in the City Walls.
'This disorder involving young people was orchestrated. We have no doubt about this.
'Young people were shamelessly and deliberately used in an attempt to distract from and shield the masked individuals as they took cover in a gazebo following the parade in the area of St Joseph's Place to change out of their parade clothing.
'This is child criminal exploitation. It is utterly shameful.'
The DUP has called for police action following the parade.
The party's MLA for Foyle Gary Middleton said: 'I am deeply concerned by today's republican parade in Londonderry, which blatantly defies the Parades Commission's determination.
'The display of paramilitary-style uniforms, proscribed flags and symbols associated with terrorism is not only provocative to the people of this city who want to move forward in peace, but also outside the law.'
He said the event represented a 'glorification of terror and a rejection of the democratic path'.
'It is unacceptable that, in 2025, we are still witnessing such public displays of hatred and division,' he added.
'The PSNI have monitored this parade but their action must not stop at that. There must be charges and prosecutions for any breaches of the law. Those who flout legal rulings and glorify terrorism must face the consequences.
'Londonderry deserves better. The vast majority of people, from all backgrounds, want a peaceful future free from the shadow of violence. We stand with them.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
31 minutes ago
- CBS News
NYPD vehicles set on fire in Brooklyn parking lot, police say
NEW YORK - Several NYPD vehicles were set on fire overnight in Bushwick, Brooklyn, according to police. The fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. Thursday inside a gated NYPD parking lot near the corner of Central and Dekalb avenues. The FDNY responded and the flames have been put out. Several NYPD vehicles were set on fire overnight in Bushwick, Brooklyn, according to police. CBS News New York Police said eight vehicles were damaged. No injuries were reported. Police said this appears to be a case of arson. So far, there's no word on a description of a suspect or suspects. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via their website. All calls are kept confidential. Check back soon for the latest updates on this developing story.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Russian War Losses Pass Grim 1-Million Milestone
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Russian casualties fighting against Ukraine have surpassed 1 million, according to Kyiv's military, as ceasefire negotiations yield little progress and Moscow ramps up its summer offensive. Why It Matters Moscow is known for what have been dubbed "meat assaults," or using waves of many soldiers—often lacking sufficient training or adequate equipment—to attack Ukrainian positions. Casualty counts, as reported by Kyiv, have typically spiked during prolonged attacks on fortified Ukrainian positions, such as on the Donetsk cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka. What To Know Moscow has sustained 1,000,340 casualties since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv's General Staff said on Thursday. One million Russian soldiers being killed or injured is a "stunning and grisly milestone," the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said earlier this month The figures from Ukraine's General Staff are very difficult to independently verify, but statistics published by Kyiv are frequently cited by Western officials. The British government put Russia's likely total casualty count since February 2022 at 920,000 back in April. Experts caution that enemy casualty counts published by each side during a conflict are typically inflated. Ukraine does not disclose its own casualties. "Even if you're on the ground, it's very difficult for you to count casualties," said Marina Miron, a postdoctoral researcher with the War Studies Department at King's College London. A weapon of psychological warfare for both sides, tallies of those killed or injured don't take into account the missing, Miron told Newsweek. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email. Composite image of a shrine to a fallen soldier and Russian President Vladimir Putin bowing his head in front of a wreath held by soldiers. Composite image of a shrine to a fallen soldier and Russian President Vladimir Putin bowing his head in front of a wreath held by soldiers. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty Independent Russian outlet Mediazona and the BBC's Russian service, which jointly compile a list of named deceased soldiers, said a confirmed figure of 1,762 troops had been killed between May 23 and June 6, bringing the total tally of Russian fighters known to have died in the war to 111,387. The true tally will be far higher, the outlets note, as many deaths in combat are not made public. Russia controls roughly a fifth of Ukraine, and has intensified its attacks in the country's east, as well as close to the northeastern city of Sumy in recent weeks. Moscow has said its troops reached the western border of Ukraine's battered Donetsk region, and have started an "offensive" in neighboring Dnipropetrovsk. The Kremlin said on Monday it was attempting to carve out a "buffer zone." Western and Ukrainian analysts said Russia has advanced close to the village of Horikhove, roughly a mile from the Dnipropetrovsk border. Moscow has claimed to have annexed Donetsk and Luhansk—two regions collectively known as the Donbas—along with the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts of Ukraine. The Kremlin has controlled Crimea, the peninsula to the south of mainland Ukraine, since it seized the territory from Kyiv in 2014. Dnipropetrovsk has not been annexed by Russian decree. Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said on Monday that Russia's statements about a Dnipropetrovsk offensive were "not true." He later said on Wednesday Moscow's military had "tried to send attack aircraft" to the Dnipropetrovsk border, which he claimed were "destroyed." Advances in Donetsk, Luhansk, the northeastern Kharkiv region and elsewhere across Ukraine have come at an eye-watering cost for Russia. Moscow has seized a "paltry" 5,000 square kilometers (almost 2,000 square miles) of the country since January 2024, equivalent to about 1 percent of Ukraine, according to the CSIS think tank. Russia initially swept up 120,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in the first five weeks of its invasion, the think tank said. The CSIS put the number of Russian soldiers killed in the invasion at up to 250,000, a demonstration of what it called Russian President Vladimir Putin's "blatant disregard for his soldiers." The Kremlin leader is "afraid that sooner or later someone in Russia might start asking questions like: '[In the name of what he had sacrificed a million or more people?'" said Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine's parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. "This fear is one of the reasons why he is doubling down on his aggressive war efforts," Merezhko told Newsweek. Russian fatalities in Ukraine since its tanks rolled into the country in February 2022 are 15 times higher than the losses the Soviet Union sustained in Afghanistan, and 10 times those of the brutal conflict in Chechnya, the CSIS said. "For Russia, the end justifies the means," an anonymous former Russian defense official told The Guardian newspaper in October. "Before the war, such casualties would have seemed unimaginable," they added. "Now, it appears that the generals hardly care as long as they meet Putin's demands." Kyiv said Moscow sustained more than 628,000 of the million reported casualties in the past year and a half. Throughout 2022, just over 106,000 people were killed or injured—equivalent to 340 people on average each day, the general staff said. This more than doubled in 2023 to 693 daily casualties on average, the military said. In 2024, it surged to an average of 1,177 people per day. Figures from Ukraine's authorities for the first half of 2025 put the average number of daily Russian casualties at 1,286. The number of Russian soldiers killed or wounded on the battlefield in 2025 had exceeded 200,000 by the start of June, the Ukrainian military said. U.K. intelligence assessed in mid-April Russia that had sustained roughly 138,000 casualties fighting Ukraine up until that point in 2025. On several occasions in late 2024, Ukraine said Russia had suffered more than 2,000 casualties in the space of 24 hours. At the start of that year, Moscow seized the Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka, then setting its sights on the Donetsk cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk and slowing inching westward. Russia also battled a Ukrainian incursion into the Russian Kursk region from August 2024 until March 2025. What People Are Saying Regarding the difference between the BBC and Independent Russian outlet Mediazona's tally of 111,387 confirmed Russian deaths in Ukraine over the course of the war and the far higher unconfirmed figure, Emily Ferris, a senior research fellow with the Royal United Services Institute, an influential British defense think tank, told Newsweek: "Either way, it's a significant chunk of the male population. There's no denying it." What Happens Next Analysts say Russia will likely be able to continue its war effort against Ukraine, with has a much smaller pool of possible recruits, despite the purported casualty figures. The Russian government has offered attractive salaries for contract soldiers, and has two rounds of military conscription each year, said Ferris. But it will want to avoid another mobilization, which previously proved deeply unpopular, Ferris added. Moscow declared a partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists in September 2022.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Donald Trump to enact key parts of US-UK trade deal within days
Donald Trump is poised to sign off crucial parts of the US-UK trade deal that will deliver lower tariffs for British car exports to America Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
