Orange march passes off peacefully

Loyalists and nationalists in Belfast were today breathing a sigh of relief after a contentious Protestant Orange Order march passed peacefully in the west of the city.

Around 50 members of the Order broke away from the rerouted main parade and abided by Appraised Commission ruling allowing to march along a disputed stretch of the Springfield Road.

The rest of the marchers taking part in the Whiterock parade took an alternative route through the former Mackies factory site.

The Orangemen who marched through the contentious part of the road were flanked on either side by around 100 nationalists who staged a peaceful protest.

Nationalists held up posters inscribed with slogans such as ’Loyalist threats, Parades Commission concedes’, ’You are now passing nationalist homes’, and ’Shared space, shared responsibility’.