THE Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has launched separate murder investigations after a man died in Co Derry and another man was found dead in Belfast.

Gary Butcher (39), from the Magilligan area of Limavady, died in Bob's Bar on the Seacoast Road between Limavady and Benone early yesterday morning.

Police were called to the scene at 12:40am. They were contacted by the ambulance service which was initially contacted.

The bar remained cordoned off yesterday as forensic officers examined the scene.

Two men, aged 19 and 25, were arrested overnight in connection with the death, while a third man was arrested yesterday afternoon.

Police are also investigating the death of a man in a flat in west Belfast on Thursday.

The body of 52-year-old Gerard Reid, known locally as "Rico", was found at the flat on Ardmonagh Parade at 8:30am on Thursday morning.

However, the murder investigation was not launched until Friday evening following an earlier post-mortem examination.

The flat where the body was found has been sealed-off and police were still maintaining a presence in the area yesterday.

Details of how Reid died have not yet been released.

Police are trying to trace his movements and believe he was in the Springfield Road area on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

The PSNI has appealed for information and are asking anyone who knows anything about the man's death to contact them at Antrim Road police station.

Meanwhile, two men were arrested after rival groups of rioters threw bricks, bottles and petrol bombs at police in west Belfast on Friday night and into the early hours of yesterday morning.

Up to 100 people were reported to have been involved in the violence in the Broadway area.