For the second straight evening, Belfast was hit by sectarian riots and violent clashes with police, further destabilizing Northern Ireland and threatening the already shaky 1998 peace accord. The trouble started on Tuesday, when a Protestant mob began throwing rocks and prevented Catholic school girls from leaving Holy Cross Girls' Primary School. The school is located on one of the few remaining Protestant streets in Ardoyne, North Belfast. The two communities live in very close proximity in the area, which has a history of sectarian tension. This tension has erupted into violent clashes, mainly between the police and British soldiers and petrol-bomb-throwing youths, both loyalist and nationalist. These latest disturbances are a reflection of the taut political climate in Ulster. First Minister David Trimble has pledged to resign on July 1 if the IRA fails to decommission its weapons. It seems almost certain that the IRA will not do so and that the republican movement will then wait to see who succeeds Trimble as head of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) before deciding its next step. In the meantime, however, the summer marching season approaches.