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Trouble erupted when a crowd that was blocking the road attacked a van
Eight police officers have been injured and 12 people arrested following clashes between loyalists and riot police in Belfast.
Trouble began in the city when a crowd that was blocking the road attacked a van after its driver had attempted to drive through a loyalist roadblock.
Police said an attempt had been made to hijack the van.
And senior officers have appealed to loyalists planning to protest in Belfast city centre later not to do so.
Loyalists opposed to new restrictions on flying the union flag at Belfast city hall have been holding protests across Northern Ireland all week after the city council voted to fly the union flag on designated days.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the city and condemned the violence.
Her comments came before Friday night clashes that left six police officers hurt in the Crumlin Road and Ligoneil Road area of north Belfast, with two more injured in Shaftesbury Square near the city centre.
Among those arrested was a boy aged 13.
Police fear Saturday could bring more disruption or violence in Belfast, which is expected to be packed with Christmas shoppers.
Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, urged those those involved in the protests to "take a step back and stay out of the city centre".
"The risk to the public safety of all of those involved is simply too great," he said.
ACC Kerr said 27 police officers had been injured while dealing with disorder this week.
He said: "This behaviour is simply not acceptable. These people are only wrecking their own communities and putting innocent people's lives at risk.
"This mob violence and intimidation cannot be allowed to continue and I am urgently appealing to politicians and those with community influence in these areas to do what they can to put a stop to this behaviour now before someone is seriously injured or killed."
There were a number of developments during the disturbances on Friday evening:
- Missiles were thrown at riot police and their vehicles in the Shaftsbury Square area of the city
- Bricks and other missiles were also thrown at police on the O'Neill Road in Newtownabbey, on the outskirts of Belfast. Police said about 50 people were in the area
- Water cannon was used in Belfast
- There was trouble at the Mossley Mill civic centre in Newtownabbey, where 600 people were attending functions on the premises
- Earlier, several small protests took place in Belfast, Bangor and Lisburn, as well as other areas of Northern Ireland
- A protest at Alliance party headquarters near Holywood Arches in east Belfast caused traffic delays
- Protesters blocked the road at University Street at the office of Alliance MLA Anna Lo
In other disturbances, about 200 people were at the DUP mayor of Newtownabbey's Christmas dinner and 400 were at a Christmas function involving singer Peter Corry.
About 30 to 40 loyalists who congregated at the gates hijacked and burned two cars and smashed the windscreens of other cars belonging to people attending the functions.
People at the play were delayed and those at the Christmas dinner had their evening cut short because entertainers could not get into the premises.
A situation arose where people inside could not leave and people attempting to enter were obstructed.
DUP assembly member Paul Girvan attempted to speak to the protesters but was initially stoned before being recognised by the loyalists.
He said that as far as he was concerned there was clear paramilitary orchestration.
Mr Girvan blamed the Ulster Volunteer Force.
There have been protests since Monday when Belfast City Council voted to fly the union flag on designated days only.
Nationalists at Belfast City Council had wanted the union flag taken down altogether, but in the end voted on a compromise from the Alliance party that it would fly on designated days.
Unionists have said they consider the changes regarding the union flag to be an attack on their cultural identity.
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