High tension in Portadown following the Orange Order march on the Garvaghy Road

Tension is high in Portadown, Northern Ireland, where a large crowd of demonstrators gathered along the Garvaghy Road to protest against the march of the Orange Order, a protestant unionist organization that returned to march on the Garvaghy Road after 28 years.

Some protest participants held hands in a chain, while people standing on the sides of the road were asked to move towards the center of the crowd.

Gerry Carroll, member of the Northern Irish assembly for People Before Profit (Pbp), also participated in the demonstration, together with other politicians.

Meanwhile, members of the Orange Order are still gathered in a hall at Drumcree church, about a mile from Garvaghy Road, awaiting further directions from the police to start the parade.

A call for calm comes from British Prime Minister Andy Burnham: "I know the situation is tense. We ask for calm from all sides," he said. "Great progress has been made in Northern Ireland and we don't want to go backwards. It's a complex situation, of course, but it's vital that we work to restore calm," he added.