Castlereagh Street, Beersbridge Road, and Glenmachan Street, which were closed, were re-opened.

Police moved along the Newtownards Road to remove barricades erected by loyalists to try and create a ‘No Go Zone’ area.

Police on Tuesday night removing east Belfast barricades

However, they have come attack from missiles.

Earlier a source in east Belfast said on Tuesday night: “The crowd are now holding the area in large numbers.

“The plan is to try and have a ‘No Go Zone’.

“The crowd is now wrecking the area. Police can’t gain entry at the moment.

“The new community centre is under threat of being set on fire. This is a very serious situation.

“From what we gather, there has been heavy petrol bombing.”

A stand-off developed before police pulled back in an attempt to ease tensions in the area.

After regrouping, police then moved in to dismantle barricades and pull away barricades blocking the roads.

Added the source: “This could be a long night.”

By 10.30pm, the area was relatively quiet although police said there were small pockets of minor trouble.

The sixth night of trouble comes despite pleas from First Minister Peter Robinson for the protests and the street violence to end.

He said unionists who believed in democracy didn’t attack PSNI.

Peter Robinson announces first meeting of Unionist Forum

Mr Robinson said that the ongoing disorder was “very damaging” to Northern Ireland’s reputation around the world.

“We’ve worked for a very long period of time to overcome the image of Northern Ireland as a place where there is violence and instability.

“Already we have had investors, both people who have invested and people who were about to invest asking questions, and we are having to give reassurances to them,” he said.

“It’s bad for our image, it is bad for our opportunities to bring jobs to Northern Ireland, and that ultimately means that it is bad for ordinary people on the ground who will not have the opportunity to work in those jobs that could have been created.”

The first meeting of the unionist taskforce created by Mr Robinson and UUP leader Mike Nesbitt in response to the ongoing flag violence will take place at Stormont on Thursday morning.

In a statement, Mr Robinson and Mr Nesbitt said the Unionist Forum will “seek to engage with the entire unionist community and address issues of concern”.