According to loyalist sources, LVF men attacked UVF members in the crowd with machetes and knives. The guns were taken off a ship in Belfast Harbour by a small fishing boat and then landed near Carrickfergus.Ībout a month ago fighting broke out between LVF and UVF members in east Belfast, and this escalated into an attack on UVF members at a soccer match between Glentoran and Coleraine three weeks ago. He engaged in the full ambit of associated crime, involving intimidation, extortion, possession of arms and ammunition and the infliction of serious violence including murder. As a consequence he was deeply involved in terrorist crime. In the past four years almost 30 loyalists have died in feuding, much of which was connected to Adair's associates.ĭespite the fact that Adair's faction in the Ulster Defence Association was forced out of Belfast last year, security sources say Adair remains intent on re-establishing himself in loyalist areas of Belfast where he and his former associates had controlled a lucrative drug trade.Īdair is understood to have established links with the LVF, which recently smuggled a shipment of handguns and sub-machineguns into Northern Ireland. defendant was a member of the UVF rising to the rank of Provost Marshal. A number of key routes in the north were sealed off by the burning barricades. Serious disorder later erupted in Newtownabbey and in Carrickfergus as masked UVF paramilitaries hijacked vehicles and set them alight. Protestant church leaders and unionists have called on both sides to pull back from the feuding. The heaviest rioting took place in the small town of Ballyclare just before midnight following a loyalist protest. The Police Service of Northern Ireland is now concerned that the two groups are intent on further killings. The feud, which has been simmering for more than a month, claimed its first victim on Monday morning last when 34-year-old LVF member Brian Stewart was shot dead on his way to work in east Belfast. You may think you can pull the nose of some but you can’t manipulate the silent majority.JIM CUSACK AN ATTEMPT by allies of jailed loyalist Johnny Adair to re-establish a power base in Belfast is behind the latest feud between the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). In a tweet Mr Beattie said: “Get a grip and get lost - society have moved past your criminal, drug dealing antics. Meanwhile on Sunday, Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie responded to claims the UVF are preparing for a “winter of discontent” if the new prime minister, Liz Truss, fails to deliver on Protocol promises. Drug dealers and thugs still given impunity to terrorise communities.” We condemn outright any form of paramilitary activity.”Įlsewhere, a senior Glasgow councillor, the SNP’s Ruairi Kelly, who is originally from Carrickfergus, wrote on Twitter: “I see Carrickfergus hasn't changed since I was a child. He maintained that Carrickfergus is a good place to live and this is not the sort of behaviour locals want.Ī DUP spokesman added: “There is no place for paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. “Officers attended and everything was calm on arrival,” they added.Īlliance MLA Stewart Dickson said he “utterly condemned” the “disappointing, out of hand” display. The Catholic percentage of the population has fallen below 7 per cent and, if some local loyalists have their way, it could soon be. The PSNI confirmed it received a report of a number of people outside a house in the Cragfergus Avenue area of Carrickfergus shortly before 8.40pm on Thursday. Carrickfergus has always been a predominantly Protestant town. Writing on Twitter, Justice Minister Naomi Long described the video footage as “very concerning” and said she would be informing the PSNI. “Yet in 2022, loyalist paramilitaries continue to be involved in murder, racketeering, extortion, drug dealing and issuing sectarian threats. This type of activity must end and these paramilitary gangs should leave the stage.” The UVF has ordered the removal of Catholic families from a housing estate in Carrickfergus in what has been termed a form of 21st century ethnic cleansing. “It is now 24 years since our peace agreement, the Good Friday was endorsed in referenda by the people of Ireland, north and south. “Reports that a masked loyalist gang attempted to intimidate a family and force them from their home in Carrickfergus are shocking and disgraceful,” she said. Sinn Féin MLA Linda Dillon says there is no place for armed loyalist gangs in our society and they should “leave the stage”. Get up here now… can you just get up here quick?” The mobile phone footage has been widely shared on social media. So too has an emergency phone call to police with the caller saying: “There are masked men about to attack my house. A large group walking in the Milebush area of Carrickfergus
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