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Northern Ireland's Marching Season Reaches Climax
Thousands of Orangemen took part in rallies across Northern Ireland to mark the climax of the Protestant marching season.
The parades by the Orange Order commemorate the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 which saw Prince William of Orange defeat the Catholic forces of King James.
They came a day before the resumption of talks aimed at moving forward the deadlocked Northern Ireland political process.
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Berti Ahern said three days of intense talks in England on the process had given them fresh hope the issues could be resolved.
The main sticking points remain the issues of Irish Republican Army (IRA) arms decommissioning, policing and British army demilitarization.
They will resume on Friday at a hotel in Staffordshire, central England, and will involve the main pro-Agreement parties.
The contentious marching season has been marked by less protest than in previous years but marred by some violence.
Security forces used water cannon against loyalists after being attacked with a blast bomb at an Eleventh Night bonfire in Portadown.
The Royal Ulster Constabulary also baton-charged the group of several hundred loyalists at the gathering on the Corcrain Estate in County Armagh -- an area which saw serious rioting last year.
In Belfast, loyalist paramilitaries put on so-called shows of strength at bonfires to mark the Twelfth of July in Belfast.
The Ulster Freedom Fighters fired shots in front of a crowd of about 200 off the Shankill Road before midnight on Wednesday.
Masked Ulster Volunteer Force members fired handguns while a third fired shots from an assault rifle at a bonfire in nearby Northumberland Street,
As the parade set off on Thursday in Belfast, crowds gathered in the city center to watch the province's largest demonstration as it wound its way to "the field" in Edenderry.
Meanwhile, Orangemen in Londonderry said they will not join the main parade through the Waterside in protest at the Parades Commission decision to ban the main parade from the Cityside.
The local Orange lodge, which is the only lodge permitted to march in the Cityside, paraded to police lines where a letter of protest was handed over.
In South Belfast, Ballynafeigh Lodge protested at security barriers at Ormeau Bridge against the decision to ban them from the Lower Ormeau Road.
Orangemen are parading to 19 venues across Northern Ireland with the biggest demonstrations at Edenderry near Belfast and in Londonderry.
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