ELEVEN arrests have now been made following the trouble that flared up in Glasgow following the referendum result, police said last night.
Six people were arrested on Friday night after loyalist No supporters charged on pro-independence supporters in George Square, with ugly scenes of chanting, jeering and Nazi salutes, followed by violence in the city centre.
Police Scotland yesterday said the number of arrests had risen to 11 for various offences including disorder, breach of the peace and vandalism.
Trouble flared after loyalists bearing Union Jack flags and "No thanks" posters descended on George Square on Friday in the early evening.
A crowd of independence supporters were already present in the square - which had been a peaceful focal point for Yes gatherings in the run-up to the referendum - to commiserate on the result.
After a flare was let off, it escalated into a heated standoff, with protesters having to be separated by a line of police and mounted police being drafted in.
Footage posted on social media showed scenes of Union supporters singing Rule Britannia - countered by Flower of Scotland from the Yes campaigners - and making Nazi salutes.
One man was seen to rip up a Yes campaign poster. Punches were also thrown and threats of violence made.
Later in the evening a number of people draped in Union flags left the area and began spreading onto nearby streets, with many marching down St Vincent Place as police followed. They later gathered in George Square again, this time at the top of the square next to Queen Street Station, singing Rule Britannia, and another flare was let off.
Police formed a human barrier to block off the route to Buchanan Street and contain people in the square.
Yesterday George Square had largely returned to normal activity, with shoppers and tourists milling around, although monuments remained cordoned off.
A solitary Yes campaigner addressed a small crowd. Andrew Carnegie, who runs a foodbank in Blackhill, Glasgow, told the gathering he had started a rally for "peace, for unity and to get rid of foodbanks and austerity".
He said: "I am an activist, protester and campaigner and have had enough. This is about a country; we need your assistance, we need your help for the vulnerable poor."
A placard bearing a poem called "Glasgow we Love You", which was signed as from a "Glasgow woman", had been posted in the grass of the square with a bunch of white flowers.
"Today when you awake - be thankful, for we are the lucky ones," it began. "Our people are renowned for being the most kind and caring. Let us never lose sight of this.
"The world's eyes are upon us all. Let us lead the way in equality, a city without prejudice and without sectarianism."
Elsewhere in the city, the steps in front of the Royal Concert Hall which had been the scene of gatherings of both Yes and No supporters were once again filled with shoppers and passers-by.
Despite the heightened tensions in the city, a series of parades - five Orange Lodge marches and one republican one - went ahead yesterday, but were said to have passed without incident.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council, which gave permission for the parades to go ahead, said the local authority worked to balance the rights of people who want to parade with the needs of the local community.
He said: "The parades ... were notified some time ago. At the end of the day the council doesn't have the power to ban parades, all we can do is ask the parade organisers to change the time or location.
"We work on this with them in consultation with the police and obviously at the time they told us they wanted to have these parades, there was no indication there was going to be any trouble."
He added: "It is important to point out there is no indication that suggests the people involved in the activity on Friday night are in any way connected to the people who organised the parades."
Chief Superintendent Andy Bates, local policing commander for Greater Glasgow, said more than 700 people had gathered in George Square on Friday night.
He added: "An investigation into Friday night's disorder has begun and an incident room has been set up at Glasgow City Centre Police Office.
"We have already secured valuable CCTV and other evidence, which I am confident will lead to further arrests in the coming days.
"Don't think that because you were not arrested by last night that you will not be caught. If you were involved in any criminality in the square we will identify you and you will be arrested."
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