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Saturday 25 March 2023 Dublin: 6°C
Peter Morrison/Press Association Images A massive bonfire dwarfs the houses in close to Lanark Way in West Belfast.
# Marching Season
Ardoyne parade banned as Northern Ireland readies for 'Twelfth'
Almost 50 parades described as “sensitive” as PSNI calls up additional support.

THE PSNI IS estimating some 550 parades across Northern Ireland as the province readies for the annual 12th July marches.

Police are describing 43 of the parades as “sensitive” with the Parades Commission banning the planned march through the Ardoyne area of North Belfast after it was the site of serious rioting in recent years.

The commission said that the decision was taken after talks between residents’ group CARA and and the Orange Order  were unable to produce an agreement.

The decision of the Parades Commission was described as “sensible” by local Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly who said, “A peaceful 12th will give those talks a good foundation in which a local resolution can be found to this parading issue.”

DUP leader and Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson called the decision “deeply flawed” and  ”a reward for violence and intolerance in light of events in the area last year”.

To cope with the scale of this years marches, the PSNI have called up additional resources from elsewhere in the UK who trained with the force for the recent G8 summit. The ‘Mutual Aid’ officers will be deployed in less sensitive areas and will be comprised of 30 units and around 630 officers.

Ardoyne parade banned as Northern Ireland readies for 'Twelfth'
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  • Twelfth of July preparations

    Jack Lindsay,12, with a tyre beside the huge bonfire at New Mossley on the outskirts of Belfast. Paul Faith/PASource: Paul Faith/PA Wire
  • Twelfth of July preparations

    A massive bonfire dwarfs the houses in close to Lanark Way in West Belfast, Northern Ireland. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)Source: AP Photo/Peter Morrison
  • Twelfth of July preparations

    A man adds the finishing touch to a huge bonfire in the New Mossley area on the outskirts of Belfast. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
  • Twelfth of July preperations

    The Collerate of a Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge in Drumcree church during the service. (Julien Behal/PA Images)Source: Julien Behal/PA Images
  • Twelfth of July preperations

    PSNI officers keep an eye on Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge as it is stopped at the barricade below Drumcree church. (Julien Behal/PA Images)
  • Twelfth of July preperations

    Mark Mayne,13, climbs up one of the huge bonfires, built across the province, at New Mossley on the outskirts of Belfast. (Paul Faith/PA Images)
  • Twelfth of July preperations

    Members of Portadown District Loyal Orange Lodge enjoy a sandwich and a cup of tea inside the tea shack below Drumcree church. (Julien Behal/PA Images)
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