Police charge youth over rioting in Newtownabbey

A TEENAGE boy is to face a court later this month over rioting in Co Antrim.

The 17-year-old is accused of riotous assembly and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

He is due to appear before Belfast Youth Court on Friday 29 March.

The teenager was arrested in the Newtownabbey area on Tuesday morning by detectives from Operation Dulcet which was set up to probe Union flag protests and resulting disorder.

He was detained in connection with serious disorder at Cloughfern corner in Newtownabbey on 11 January 2013.

Loyalist protestors threw petrol bombs, fireworks and other missiles at police that evening, and a bus was hijacked and set on fire in the area.

The arrest was made by detectives from the Operation Dulcet inquiry team, a taskforce set up to investigate incidents linked to the Union flag protests.