NI dissidents warn of 'vigorous opposition' to Biden's visit, set police vehicle on fire

Masked dissidents who wreaked havoc in Northern Ireland ahead of Joe Biden's visit have warned that any such excursion by the US president will be "vigorously opposed by the Revolutionary Republican Party Saoradh." The group's remarks come after it clashed with security officials and firebombed a police vehicle with Molotov cocktails just one day before President Biden was scheduled to visit Northern Ireland's Belfast for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

The GFA is a historic agreement that brought a decade of sectarian violence on the island to a close. Named “The Troubles," the ethno-nationalist conflict caused violence in Northern Ireland and gradually spread to parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland England. An accord to end the conflict was signed on April 10, 1998, on Good Friday, hence the name. The recent clashes erupted on Monday as locals took to the streets of the city of Derry to mark the anniversary of the Easter Rising, an uprising that was carried out in 1916 by Irish republicans who wanted to overthrow British tyrants.

Our officers have come under attack in Creggan with petrol bombs and other objects thrown at their vehicle while in attendance at an un-notified Easter parade. No injuries have been reported at this time. We would appeal for calm. pic.twitter.com/tYSmpPoCk7

— Police Derry City and Strabane (@PSNIDCSDistrict)

Anti-Imperialist Action Ireland group clashes with police 

Firebombs were hurled, which the group Anti Imperialist Action Ireland called a retaliatory response to an "incursion" by the Police Service of Northern Ireland into the celebrations. However, no injuries or arrests occurred due to the clash. “Our officers have come under attack in Creggan with petrol bombs and other objects thrown at their vehicle. We would appeal for calm," the Police Service of Northern Ireland tweeted. 

The leader of the group vowed to obstruct Biden's trip and accused the American leader of being "responsible for the deaths of countless people, including in Syria where he gave the order for his regime to launch fatal air strikes." "Furthermore, he is a staunch ally of the Israeli government, and their war machine, and has acted as an apologist for their Zionist crimes stating 'they had a right to defend themselves,'" said Paddy Gallagher, according to Sputnik.