Twaddell Avenue deal: Nationalist group to hold protests

The loyalist protest at Twaddell Avenue has been ongoing since July 2013

A nationalist residents' group has said it will hold a protest against the Twaddell Avenue parade deal on Friday.

The Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective also plans to protest during an Orange Order parade on Saturday.

The group is opposed to the deal to end the long-running parade dispute in north Belfast.

It began in 2013 after the Parades Commission banned the Ligoniel Lodges' return parade from passing a section of the Crumlin Road.

The BBC's Vincent Kearney said applications from the Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (Garc) to hold the protests would be lodged on Wednesday.

A resolution to the dispute was announced at the weekend, when it was confirmed the loyalist protest camp would be dismantled on Saturday 1 October after the completion of the return parade at 08:30 BST.

Dee Fennell from Garc said the deal went "against the wishes of the vast majority of people living in Ardoyne, Mountainview and the Dales."

The stand-off has cost an estimated £20m to police over the past three years.