UDA Pipebomb Attacks in North Belfast

national | miscellaneous | news report Saturday April 19, 2003 11:20 by Cllr Eoin O'Broin - Sinn Fein eoinobroin at hotmail dot com

Tension mounts as marching season starts

Members of the UDA launched an attack on nationalist homes on the North Belfast interface of Limestone Road. At 10pm on Friday night, 19th April, a crowd of loyalists threw bottles, bricks and at least three pipebombs. No injuries were recorded. The Limestone Road is one of a number of interfaces which for two years, bore the brunt of UDA violence. Since September of this year the interfaces have been relatively quiet. Many commentators attributed this to the fued within Loyalism. Fears are now mounting that with the Loyal Orders marching season approaching, loyalist violence at Belfasts interfaces may return.

The following is a report from the BBC/NI web site. It ignores the pipebombings and involvement of the UDA and presents the attack on nationjalist homes as mindless tit for tat youth rioting.

Rioters took to the streets of Belfast last EasterTwo large groups of youths have been involved in rioting in north Belfast.
Police were called out to the junction between the Limestone Road and Halliday Road at about 2200 BST on Friday.

The youths threw bricks, bottles, paint and fireworks at each other.

The Army was called to help deal with the trouble.
More than 1,100 members of the public and police officers were injured during sectarian clashes last year.

This trouble comes as a group with links to loyalist paramilitaries warned that violence in interface areas of Belfast over Easter could lead to "another summer of mindless violence".

The Ulster Political Research Group called on loyalists and republicans to ensure there was no repeat of the riots that erupted last Easter and did not calm until after the Protestant marching season.

The UPRG, which has links with the Ulster Defence Association, said tensions were high in interface areas of the city where Catholics and Protestants live side by side.

Interface
Friday's statement said: "The UPRG will be taking the necessary steps to ensure as much as possible that no trouble will flare up in loyalist areas and would hope republicans will reciprocate.
"We call on all those involved in peace work in interface areas to double their efforts to help create a peaceful Easter."

UPRG spokesman Frankie Gallagher said loyalist activists would try to prevent trouble breaking out in flashpoint areas.

"If you look back at last year when trouble flared at Easter it didn't stop until October," he said.
"If we can get people to step back and think about it now maybe we can prevent that from happening, but republicans need to play their part."
A Sinn Fein city councillor for one of the areas affected by the trouble said there was "obvious nervousness as the marching season approaches".
"We will be doing everything in our power to prevent such circumstances and we would appeal to all those with influence across the city to do likewise," said Ardoyne representative Eoin O'Broin.

"We would also encourage all those with influence to promote dialogue across the interfaces and between local residents and loyal institutions."