Belfast Orange hall damaged in arson attack

Arsonists are believed to be behind a fire in an Orange hall in Belfast.

Arsonists are believed to be behind a fire in an Orange hall in Belfast.

Petrol was used in the fire, which was discovered at around 9.45pm last night in the Whitewell Road area of north Belfast.

The door was forced open and petrol poured in. The building sustained smoke and scorch damage.

Ulster Unionist Assembly member Fred Cobain said those responsible were trying to burn Protestants out of the area.

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"These kind of attacks have been going on in this area for as long as I can remember, and they are trying to ensure that there are no Protestants living around the Whitewell Road," he said.

Elsewhere, rival gangs in Belfast confronted each other in an altercation that led to a memorial garden to six IRA victims being damaged by vandals.

Flower pots and hanging baskets at the Pitt's Place garden on the upper Newtownards Road was damaged following a clash between groups from east Belfast.

The memorial commemorates those killed by the IRA in June 1970. Men threw stones at each other at around 1.30am today, and police were called to the scene.