Police appeal for calm after two nights of trouble in Londonderry

The police commander in Londonderry has appealed for calm after petrol bombers attacked her officers for the second night running in the Waterside.

Petrol bombs and masonry were thrown at police in the Top Of The Hill area on Monday.

The previous night, police were targeted with petrol bombs, fireworks and bottles in the Strabane Old Road and Irish Street areas.

"We recognise tensions are high, but what we have seen unfold in the city over the last two nights is not the response," area commander Ch Supt Gillian Kearney said.

She said the crowd involved mostly young people, some of whom were masked, and that there would be an increased police presence across the city.

"Last night, again there was an impact on the public when a road in the area was closed and drivers had to be diverted away from what was happening for their own safety," Kearney said.

"There was disruption for people who were attending events in the community, and the disorder will also understandably have caused fear for residents who deserve to live in peace.

"I want to reassure the community we will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders, and continue to work to keep everyone safe, including our own officers who bravely put themselves in harm's way to protect the community last night."

On Monday evening, motorists were warned to avoid the area of Chapel Road, Strabane Old Road and Irish street due to the ongoing policing operation.

Young footballers were also asked to leave their training at the Waterside Shared Village due to the disorder, which one mother said had left a number of children frightened.

Julie Ann Coll, whose son was attending the training, said that at 20:15 BST, parents and coaches were approached by police, who advised them to leave the area.

"They're an under-13 football team, they don't fully understand what's going on, but they were scared tonight," Coll said.

"My son and his teammates, their coaches, and there were at least five other wee teams there training tonight, they all had to pack up early and leave their football training."

DUP MLA Julie Middleton said community workers had been on the scene for hours, trying to calm things down.

She told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme that she believed some "children not much older than my nine-year-old" were being encouraged to carry out the disorder.

"I am a mother and I don't think any child grows up to hate, or throw a petrol bomb," Middleton said.

"Young people have clearly been manipulated to throw these petrol bombs, paint bombs and masonry."

She said sporadic disorder is leaving communities "frightened and concerned" and appealed to those with influence in both communities to call for calm.

Meanwhile, two windows of a Sinn Féin constituency office in the Waterside area were smashed overnight.

In a statement, Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson described the incident on the Spencer Road as a "cowardly attack" and said those behind it had "nothing to offer".

In a statement, police said they were investigating criminal damage to the property.

Jackson also condemned the actions "of a small minority" who he said orchestrated disorder in the Top of the Hill on Sunday evening.

"There are some who are trying to drag our communities back," he said in a statement.

"Bringing petrol bombs onto our streets only feeds into their agenda, our young people shouldn't be used as pawns."