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Belfast Telegraph Home > NewsSINN Fein's Gerry Kelly sustained a broken wrist during his attempts to calm violence in Ardoyne, it was claimed today.
Mr Kelly said he was trying to stop nationalists attacking Army Land Rovers on the Ardoyne Road on Monday night when he had his wrist broken by a police baton.
Amid a huge police and Army presence, members of the Ballysillan Orange Lodge passed by the area as nationalists protested.
The parade had been restricted by the Parades Commission, which ruled that only lodge members and marshals could take part in the parade back to Ballysillan as it passed the Ardoyne shops.
Mr Kelly criticised the authorities' handling of the contentious parade.
But as it passed he appealed for calm as nationalist youths attacked the security forces.
"The Commission is now defunct because when it makes a decision, the PSNI does what it wants," he said.
Media reports which claim Mr Kelly helped save the life of an Army Paratrooper during the riot are "erroneous", the party claimed today.
A spokesman said: "Tensions were very high and if the paratroopers weren't taken out of the area there could have been deaths. Mr Kelly was protecting nationalists."
Several hours of rioting in north Belfast left 35 soldiers and police officers injured.
Police said they acted in accordance with the ruling as the parade's supporters were only allowed up the road after the march had passed.
A PSNI spokeswoman said: "CCTV footage will be examined for any breach of the law. Police responded appropriately and proportionately."