LONDON (Reuters) -Public disorder broke out in Ballymena town centre in Northern Ireland following a protest reportedly over an alleged sexual assault case on Monday, with police saying a number of missiles had been thrown towards officers.
The unrest follows a protest in the area, about 45 km (30 miles) from the capital city of Belfast, earlier on Monday evening, the police statement said, adding damage was reported to a number of properties.
Social media footage, purportedly showing the disorder, captured plumes of fire near what appeared to be residential buildings, with police present at the scene.
Another clip appeared to show a masked man throwing an object at police vans as a crowd looked on. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of these clips.
“We are urging everyone to remain calm and to act responsibly,” Chief Superintendent Sue Steen said in the police statement.
BBC News reported that hundreds of protesters had gathered in Ballymena in response to a case involving two teenage boys who appeared before Coleraine Magistrates’ Court earlier in the day, accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the County Antrim town.
Irish media outlet RTE News reported that the teenagers, who it said are Romanian and spoke through an interpreter, cannot be identified because of their ages.
A separate police statement from Sunday said two teenage boys had been charged with attempted rape in connection with a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in Ballymena on Saturday evening.
(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Chris Reese and Lincoln Feast.)
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