Loyalist abduction attempt in South Belfast
A 22-year-old West Belfast man has described how his mobile phone
saved his life after he was abducted by loyalists in Tate's Avenue on
St. Patrick's night, the third such attempt in Belfast in a week. An
Phoblacht reported last week that two West Belfast youths had a lucky
escape when loyalists grabbed them as they went through the Village
area. If one of them had not escaped to raise the alarm, the
loyalists, who were armed with knives, would almost certainly have
killed them.
In this latest case, the man, who wished to remain anonymous, had
been walking along the South Belfast thoroughfare on his way to his
girlfriend's house at Ulsterville Avenue when he was attacked.
As he reached the bridge at Tate's Avenue he was assaulted by the
loyalist mob. ``I was grabbed from behind. My shirt was pulled over my
head and I was kicked to the ground,'' he said. ``Two men held my arms
and another one held my head.''
As six other men quickly arrived on the scene, the young nationalist
was dragged down a set of steps into an alleyway.
``They asked me where I live. I told them Ulsterville Avenue but they
took out my wallet. It was then that they saw my St. Paul's GAA card.
After this there was nothing said for a while then another man
arrived on the scene and he gave the orders for me to be taken away.''
He was then brought along railway tracks to a derelict house in the
heart of the Village area.
Two older men then turned up and ordered the others to put money and
a mobile phone they had taken off the man back in his pockets and to
wipe the fingerprints off the wallet.
``One of the fellas asked where another man was. He was told that he
was being fetched and that I would be `finished off'.''
At this point the man's mobile phone went off, which distracted the
gang, allowing him to pull free from the mob.
After a brief and terrifying chase the young man arrived on the
Donegal Road,, where the mob gave up the chase.
``I haven't been able to sleep and I don't feel comfortable when I'm
on my own. They still have my wallet so I haven't been staying at
home since the incident. Some people called to my girlfriend's house
in a red Ford Escort later that night and asked who lived there. The
said they were from Aughnacloy yet they didn't have country accents.
``I'm very lucky to have survived this but I hope other people will
learn from my mistakes.''
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