Further disturbances in east Belfast

Northern police and British soldiers have been called into the Short Strand area of east Belfast again today after loyalists picketed a doctor's surgery this morning to prevent nationalists from entering.

The picket led to minor clashes between the two sides and the lower Newtownards Road has been closed off.

The loyalist protest is continuing. Meanwhile, loyalists in north Belfast have accused nationalists of attacking houses in Cambrai Street, near Ardoyne, at 3am today.

One lady said she saw four men in a car throwing bricks at houses.

Ardoyne was embroiled in sectarian tension last year after local loyalists blockaded a road to prevent Catholic girls from walking through a Protestant area on their way to school.