On the eve of US President Joe Biden’s visit, a crowd with Molotov cocktails and other blunt objects threw themselves at police during a parade of dissident Republicans in Derry, Northern Ireland. The unauthorized procession required the intervention of law enforcement officers in riot gear: the previous clashes do not appear to have left any injuries, but the simultaneous arrival of the American President has not gone unnoticed. On the 25th anniversary of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which ended 30 years of civil war, protesters planning to march to the cemetery to commemorate the anniversary of Ireland’s uprising against the British on Easter 1916. Faces covered, aimed at a police Land Rover leading the parade in the Creggan area. According to the Guardian, the vehicle caught fire but there are currently no casualties or injuries. “Our officers are being attacked in Creggan with petrol bombs and other objects being thrown at their vehicle during an unannounced Easter parade,” a police spokesman said. “No injuries have been reported at this time. But we appeal to calm».
From Pope Francis to Biden: The international spotlight ‘feeds the violence’
At the Easter parades in Derry, episodes of violence like a few hours ago are not new. But police say the international spotlight on Northern Ireland in recent days has given dissident republicans an added stimulus. The attack on the police vehicle came shortly after Pope Francis vowed the 1998 Good Friday Agreement: “In a spirit of gratitude I pray to the God of peace that what has been achieved in this historic step may be consolidated for the good of all people and people.” Women of the island of Ireland,” said the Pope in his Easter Monday address. In a few hours, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will welcome Joe Biden to Belfast, kicking off a four-day visit by the US President to Northern Ireland and Ireland. The two leaders will hold talks at a Belfast hotel before Biden delivers a speech at Ulster University’s new campus, his only public engagement in the region where part of his family lives.