2021 Northern Ireland riots

2021 Northern Ireland riots
2021 Northern Ireland riots
	Graffiti in Belfast opposing an "Irish Sea border" (February 2021)
Date	30 March – 9 April 2021
Location	Northern Ireland, particularly Belfast, Derry, and Carrickfergus
Caused by	Brexit, EU jurisdiction and the Northern Ireland Protocol; Funeral of Republican Bobby Storey; COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland;
Methods	Rioting; Arson; Hijackings;
Parties
Ulster loyalists Ulster Defence Association (UDA); Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF);	United Kingdom Police Service of Northern Ireland;
Lead figures
	Simon Byrne
Casualties and losses
Unknown	88 PSNI officers injured

A series of riots in loyalist areas of Northern Ireland began in Waterside, Derry, on 30 March 2021. After four nights of rioting in Derry, disturbances spread to south Belfast on 2 April, where a loyalist protest developed into a riot involving iron bars, bricks, masonry and petrol bombs. Following this, civil unrest spread to Newtownabbey on 3 April, where cars were hijacked and burnt, and petrol bombs were also used against police. Carrickfergus in southern County Antrim also saw serious civil unrest on the night of 4 April and morning of 5 April, where loyalists created roadblocks to keep police out of local estates and threw petrol bombs at police vehicles.