Parades Commission meets to review Whiterock ruling

The Parades Commission is today reviewing its decision to allow 50 Orangemen to march through a nationalist area of west Belfast this Saturday.

The Commission agreed earlier this week to allow a small section of the Whiterock parade pass through the security gates on Workman Avenue that separate the local nationalist and loyalist communities.

The nationalist residents have slammed the decision and have demanded that it be overturned.

Last September, a re-routed parade in the same area sparked intense rioting, with loyalists firing blast bombs and live ammunition at the police.

Sinn Féin has accused the Parades Commission of bowing to the threat of further violence by allowing 50 of the Orangemen to march through a Catholic community this weekend.