Two cars on fire in Templemore Avenue in east Belfast

A NUMBER of cars were set alight and petrol bombs were thrown on Tuesday night.

The missiles were thrown at riot police at Templemore Avenue shortly before 11pm.

A PSNI spokesperson said four vehicles were also set on fire in the area.

Earlier police warned members of the public to avoid the Lower Newtownards Road after “large crowds” gathered in the area.

Meanwhile, police said there were “pockets of disorder” in north Belfast at Mount Vernon, Woodvale Road and North Queen Street.

In Newtownabbey, trouble flared close to a petrol station on the O’Neill Road where a car was alight. Motorists were asked to avoid the area.

Disturbances in the North Queen Street area of Belfast and the O’Neill Road area in Newtownabbey continued into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“Mount Vernon, Woodvale Road, the Lower Newtownards Road area and the Templemore Avenue area are now believed to be calm following earlier disturbances,” police said.

There was also reports of unrest in White City in north Belfast.

It was the fifth consecutive night of violence in parts of Belfast.

The unrest first erupted last Friday after police prevented Orangemen from passing the Ardoyne shopfronts, following a determination by the Parades Commission.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness condemned the latest violence.

He tweeted: “Deplorable that violent loyalist extremists are again attacking the police and community in Belfast tonight.”

The Sinn Féin representative also described rioters as “enemies of the peace”.

Earlier First Minister Peter Robinson said there was “no excuse” for the rioting in the city.

“I honestly do not believe that anybody in this society can condone or be silent on violence in our community,” he said.

“It has dogged our community for generations and it must come to an end.”

Addressing MLAs during a special sitting of the Stormont Assembly, the DUP leader said the Parades watchdog had got it wrong in Ardoyne.

“I think that the Parades Commission got it completely wrong. I do not believe that it has the respect and credibility within the community to continue in being, but, then, I have believed that for many, many years.”

Former US Envoy Dr Richard Haass is due in Northern Ireland on Wednesday to meet with party leaders before the start of talks to find a resolution to contentious issues, including parading.