Anti-immigration protests have escalated into clashes with police in several towns in Northern Ireland this week, marking a new wave of unrest to hit the United Kingdom.
Disorder in towns across the region continued for a fourth night on Thursday. In Portadown, County Armagh, a crowd used bricks and masonry from a derelict building to throw at police.
About 40 officers have been injured, and 15 arrests have been made.
Protests began in Ballymena, a town of about 31,000 people located 40km (25 miles) northwest of the city of Belfast, on Monday when two Romanian 14-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
The most intense violence took place on Tuesday in Ballymena, when hundreds of masked rioters attacked police and set buildings and cars on fire. A smaller crowd threw rocks, fireworks and petrol bombs at police on Wednesday, as police officers responded with water cannon.
