Three shot during rioting in east Belfast

Three people were shot last night as sectarian rioting erupted around the nationalist enclave of Short Strand in east Belfast last night.

Police said the 39-year-old man and two 15-year-olds were injured when a gun was discharged into Cluan Place, in the loyalist Albertbridge Road area.

Local Sinn Fein councillor Joe O’Donnell said loyalists also fired shots into the Short Strand area.

Police said the rioting began when nationalists began throwing stones and missiles into Cluan Place.

Petrol bombs were also thrown and two houses were set alight. The violence followed several nights of rioting in east Belfast which left 10 police officers injured.

Earlier last night, rival mobs also clashed in the Whitewell Road area of north Belfast. Police and British soldiers came under attack from around 100 people who gathered on each side in the Arthur Bridge area, hurling stones, bottles, paint and petrol bombs at the security forces trying to separate them.

The disorder continued in the nearby Gunnell Hill and Serpentine Road areas, with rival gangs fighting running battles.

Two people were arrested and charged with riotous behaviour. They are due in court this morning.