The controversy stirred the old conflict in Northern Ireland, between separatists and loyalists, Sputnik has reported.
For the sixth consecutive day Northern Ireland has seen violent clashes that were marked on Wednesday by protesters hijacking and setting a bus on fire, reportedly injuring the driver and a journalist.
The double-decker vehicle was stolen in Belfast by protesters who later threw several incendiary bottles at it, setting the bus alight at the junction of Lanark Way and the Shankill Road, with the driver being reportedly assaulted. A photojournalist, who covered the riots, was also attacked by protesters.
Besides, rioters burned gates between the loyalist Shankill Road and nationalist Lanark Way in North Belfast after protesters burned tyres and bins near the gates.
Street clashes with police occurred in some parts of Northern Ireland, as protesters threw stones at officers.
More than 40 police officers were injured and nine people were detained since the outbreak of the new unrest, Sputnik cited SkyNews as reporting.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the “scenes of violence” in Northern Ireland, urging the sides to resolve disagreements "through dialogue, not violence criminality."
The unrest started last week after the Northern Ireland prosecutor's office refused to charge members of the Sinn Fein National Republican Party, who under coronavirus restrictions attended the funeral of former member of Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) Bobby Storey, who fought for separation from the United Kingdom.
The unrest turned into violent protests as loyalists, who advocate closer ties with London, are dismayed by the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol, a section of the Brexit deal between London and Brussels.
KI/PR