Bonfires were lit in loyalist neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland on Thursday, as loyal orders prepared to stage parades as part of the Twelfth of July festivities.The bonfires and parades mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, in which the Protestant King William of Orange defeated the Catholic King James II. The commemorations are important to many people in loyalist communities, but are widely seen as provocative by Irish nationalists.About 4,000 police officers and staff

Bonfires were lit in loyalist neighbourhoods across Northern Ireland on Thursday, as loyal orders prepared to stage parades as part of the Twelfth of July festivities.The bonfires and parades mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, in which the Protestant King William of Orange defeated the Catholic King James II. The commemorations are important to many people in loyalist communities, but are widely seen as provocative by Irish nationalists.About 4,000 police officers and staff will be deployed in a public safety operation across July 11 and 12, the busiest days of the year for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.