Police under attack in fifth night of unrest in Northern Ireland

There was disorder in Portadown for the second night in a row but at a lower level than seen earlier this week.

Fireworks, bricks and bottles have been thrown at police in the West Street area.

This follows four nights of unrest, which started on Monday after a peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena but that has spread to other areas.

Earlier on Friday, police release photos of four suspects they want the public to help identify in connection to the disorder.

Dozens of officers in riot gear are involved in the operation, and have formed lines in Portadown on Friday night.

Police said 63 of their officers have been injured in the previous four nights of violence after coming under "sustained attack"

Speaking at a press conference earlier, ACC Ryan Henderson said: "It is in all of our interests and in the interests of justice that those responsible are dealt with."

"In releasing these images, I am asking the wider community to step forward and help us to identify these people," ACC Henderson told a press conference on Friday.

Police have made a total of 17 arrests following disorder in various parts of Northern Ireland.

His message to those involved was: "We're actively taking steps to find you and we will bring you to justice."

"Our public order inquiry team has been working night and day to identify those involved," he added.

He also said police are investigating "those posting hate on social media".

ACC Henderson said earlier in the week police had "no intelligence" about the coordination from loyalist paramilitary groups in the disorder, but now he is "absolutely sure" that "we have seen people associated with those groupings at protests and particularly at disorder and in the vicinity of it".

"I want to say that we will prosecute anyone without fear or favour who has committed crime and committed disorder regardless what their involvement or what group they might be involved with," he added.

The constable said police saw some coordination in Thursday's disorder.

"We did absolutely see in Portadown last night people who were directing young people and directing others back and forwards to try and get around police lines, find weak points, throw weaponry," he said.

"So we certainly saw more coordination in the activity last night than we had seen in previous days, as to who was dong that coordinating I'm not in a position to say yet."

The first protest was organised hours after two teenage boys appeared before Coleraine Magistrates' Court.

They spoke through an interpreter in Romanian to confirm their names and ages. Their solicitor said they would be denying the charges.

The worst of the disorder was in Ballymena, but unrest also spread to other towns.

In Portadown, County Armagh, on Thursday a crowd pulled bricks and masonry from a derelict building which they threw at police.

ACC Henderson said: "police came under significant and sustained attack from rioters. It was clear that those involved were intent on destroying homes and businesses within the town and on attacking police."

"The police lines came under attack from heavy masonry, fireworks, petrol bombs and beer kegs," he added.

In Larne, masked youths attacked a leisure centre and set it on fire on Wednesday. The centre had been providing emergency shelter for families following the clashes earlier this week.

The home of a family with three children was set on fire in Coleraine on Thursday night, in what ACC Henderson called: "An awful, hate-motivated attack".

Graffiti stating '24 hrs' and a crosshair were daubed on a home in Bangor, County Down, overnight.

Alliance MLA Connie Egan described it as "racist and intimidating".

"Those who go out to deliberately stoke tension and inflame division in our area with this kind of harmful rhetoric do not represent the vast majority of residents here, and we simply cannot tolerate it," she said.

ACC Henderson appealed for "calm" over the coming weekend and said there will be a large police presence across Northern Ireland.

"For those thinking about causing disorder or coming to watch it, stay away, there will be consequences."