The security forces came under attack in the Ardoyne area

Trouble flared after a contentious Protestant Orange parade passed by.

Amid a huge police and Army presence, members of the Ballysillan Orange lodge passed by the Ardoyne area on Monday evening as nationalists protested.

The parade had been restricted by the Northern Ireland 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.

The 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.

Screens were erected by the security forces to shield the Orangemen from nationalist protesters, while the Ardoyne shops were blocked by a line of police vehicles.

A few bottles and stones were thrown at the Orangemen, as they returned after attending Northern Ireland's largest Orange demonstration in south Belfast.

After the parade passed, Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly appealed for calm as nationalist youths attacked security forces in the area.

Police deployed a water cannon after coming under attack

A PSNI spokesman said the police officers were slightly injured, however it is understood none of them was hospitalised.

An Army spokesman said 10 military personnel were injured, but were mostly treated for cuts and bruises.

At one stage, police had to come to the assistance of soldiers left isolated and under attack near an Army vehicle, and senior republicans continued to urge calm throughout the trouble.

Police deployed a water cannon after their vehicles came under attack in nearby Brompton Park, as a crowd of about 100 nationalist youths continued to skirmish with security forces.

Thousands of Orangemen took part in the annual Twelfth of July celebrations throughout Northern Ireland, on the biggest day in the Protestant marching calendar.

The Orangemen had been demonstrating at 19 venues across the province to commemorate Prince William of Orange's 1690 Battle of the Boyne victory over Catholic King James II.

'Consider its position'

Speaking afterwards, Mr Kelly criticised the authorities' handling of the contentious parade.

"The Parades Commission is now defunct because when it makes a decision, the PSNI does whatever it wants to do anyway," he said.

We separated them from the actual lodges themselves and what we were basically doing was ensuring that everybody's human rights were being respected Superintendent David Boultwood PSNI

SDLP leader Mark Durkan criticised the Parades Commission for not being more specific on its ruling regarding the parade's supporters and the police for their handling of the situation.

On Monday, former SDLP Belfast Lord Mayor Martin Morgan said his party would have to consider its position on policing if the commission's ruling was not enforced.

However, speaking on BBC Radio Ulster on Tuesday, Mr Durkan did not go that far.

He said: "There are bigger issues at stake than whether or not the SDLP take a particular attitude in relation to policing overall - based on what we believe was a mismanaged situation yesterday.

"We are on the Policing Board to hold the police to account for their performance - and we will be holding the police to account."

'Threw stones'

Superintendent David Boultwood said there had been negotiations "right up until the very last moment".

"We had tried to find a compromise so that neither party could feel as though they had been disadvantaged and unfortunately we had to bring the supporters up in the way in which we did," he said.

"We separated them from the actual lodges themselves and what we were basically doing was ensuring that everybody's human rights were being respected."

Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly had appealed for calm

Elsewhere, DUP assembly member William Hay said four youths threw stones at a bus he was travelling on as it returned from a parade in County Londonderry.

Mr Hay said the police should have been at Greysteel, as it was a flashpoint area.

In Antrim town, a bus carrying a flute band was attacked by about 12 youths throwing stones.

A number of windows were broken, and there were reports of some people being slightly hurt.

Meanwhile, two men have been arrested after disturbances in Antrim early on Tuesday morning.

A number of petrol bombs were found close to the entrance to the Rathenraw estate shortly before 0100 BST.

The police said they were attacked with petrol bombs a short time earlier at Stiles Way.

A barricade was also placed across the road.

In Londonderry, two men were arrested after the police were attacked with petrol bombs in the Fahan Street area on Monday evening.

The Parades Commission was set up in 1997 to make decisions on whether controversial parades should be restricted.