LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -- A number of masked people attacked police with petrol bombs and other objects at a parade opposing the Good Friday peace accord in Londonderry, police said on Monday, a day before U.S. President Joe Biden visits Belfast.
A Reuters photograph showed four young people in the mainly Irish nationalist area of Creggan throwing petrol bombs at an armored police vehicles, which was covered in flames on one side. Police said nobody was injured and appealed for calm.
“Our officers have come under attack in Creggan with petrol bombs and other objects thrown at their vehicle while in attendance at an un-notified Easter parade. No injuries have been reported at this time,” police said in a statement.
Monday marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that largely ended three decades of sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland. There is still some sporadic violence by small groups opposed to peace.
Signed in Belfast on April 10, 1998, the Good Friday agreement is considered one of the most significant peace deals of the late 20th Century, seeking to end three decades of sectarian strife that killed more than 3,600 people.
But peace has come under strain following Britain’s exit from the European Union and other political crises have overshadowed this week’s commemorations.
Biden will fly into Northern Ireland on Tuesday to attend events marking the 25th anniversary of the deal, a reflection of the role the United States played in brokering the agreement.
“This is an agreement born of partnership between the British and Irish governments and, as we will see from President Biden’s visit this week, it continues to enjoy huge international support from our closest allies,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in statement on Monday.
Angry about post-Brexit trade rules that treated the province of Northern Ireland differently to the rest of the United Kingdom, the Democratic Unionist Party, the largest pro-British party, has boycotted the power-sharing devolved government central to the peace deal for more than a year.
Last month, Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency increased the threat level in Northern Ireland from domestic terrorism to “severe” - meaning an attack was considered highly likely.