Tension rose in a sectarian flashpoint area of Belfast amid reports of gunfire in the north of the city.

Water cannon will be used in a bid to clear sectarian rioters off the streets of Belfast, police have said.

A west Belfast police station came under intense petrol bomb attack during the night as street violence continued to spread across the city, police said today.

Northern Ireland’s most senior police officer was today set to be quizzed about paramilitary involvement in the sectarian violence engulfing parts of Belfast.

A loyalist Easter band parade has been given the green light to go through the flashpoint nationalist lower Ormeau Road in Belfast.