Northern Irish police on Sunday criticised rioting by pro-Irish unity youths in Londonderry overnight that injured 10 police, the latest night of disorder to rock the UK region.
The violent scenes in the city, also known as Derry, follow nightly disturbances in Belfast and elsewhere over the last week which initially mirrored unrest in English towns and cities in the wake of the Southport knife attack.
Police have blamed pro-UK loyalist paramilitary groups for helping to fuel the violence in the Northern Irish capital, which has outlasted the riots in England, where recents days and nights have been largely peaceful.
In Londonderry, the 10 officers were injured after rioters threw petrol bombs, fireworks and missiles from late Saturday.聽
Up to 50 youths were involved in the clashes which followed a march through the city by pro-UK loyalists and lasted several hours.
Earlier on Saturday, thousands of anti-racism demonstrators rallied across the UK to protest recent rioting blamed on the far-right in the wake of the Southport knife attack that killed three children.
Crowds massed in London, Glasgow in Scotland, Belfast in Northern Ireland, Manchester and numerous other English towns and cities, as fears of violent confrontations with anti-immigration agitators failed to materialise.
It followed similar developments on Wednesday night, when anticipated far-right rallies up and down the country failed to materialise. Instead, people turned out for gatherings organised by the Stand Up To Racism advocacy group.
Up until that point, more than a dozen English towns and cities鈥攁nd Belfast too鈥攈ad been hit by anti-migrant unrest, following the deadly July 29 stabbings which were falsely linked on social media to a Muslim immigrant.
Rioters targeted mosques and hotels linked to immigration, as well as police, vehicles and other sites.
Recent nights have been largely peaceful in English towns and cities, prompting hope among the authorities that the nearly 800 arrests and numerous people already jailed had deterred further violence.
