‘Madness’: Standoff in Northern Ireland town as protesters block first Orangemen march in decades

A tense standoff occurred in the Northern Ireland town of Portadown as protesters blocked a Protestant parade, known as an Orangemen march, through a Catholic section of the town. The march was the first to take this route in almost three decades, following the lifting of a ban. According to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, the parade was authorised to proceed along Garvaghy Road in Portadown.

The standoff involved several hundred residents blocking the march, which was also blocked by police. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, referred to as Andy in one report but not given a first name in another, appealed for calm, citing the "big gains" made in Northern Ireland.

The Orange Order, a pro-British organisation, was set to march silently along the road without bands or supporters. The Parades Commission, Northern Ireland's independent body regulating contentious processions, had authorised 35 Orangemen to march.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Age, The Korea Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, Yonhap News, Gulf News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.