Shut Springfield Road security gates
By Ned Kelly
Following a series of attacks by armed loyalists on the Springfield Road in West Belfast early on Saturday morning, 25 September, local residents and elected representatives are calling for the Department of the Environment to ``ensure that `security gates' are closed at appropriate times''.
Three homes were attacked by masked loyalists armed with sledge hammers and what one resident identified as a machine gun. A loyalist flag daubed with sectarian threats and naming a local resident was hung over the window grill of one home as the sectarian gang attempted to force their way inside. ``We're going to kill you fenian bastards'', the mob roared.
John McGivern of the Springfield Residents Action Group told An Phoblacht: ``This is only the latest attack in an ongoing sectarian campaign along this `peace wall'. The gates along Workman Avenue are open all the time and are providing easy access for loyalists. People on the Springfield Road are living in constant fear. There have also been some attempted kidnappings of local children.
``The silence from loyalist politicians about this sectarian campaign is deafening. Just look at homes on the Springfield Road. Residents have had to put grills on their windows, install toughened glass and heavy doors. Not one house on the loyalist Workman Avenue side of the `peace wall' feels the need for such security.
``The Residents Action Group is calling on local people on the loyalist side to help ensure that these attacks end now.''
Lower Falls Sinn Féin councillor Tom Hartley is now calling for immediate action by the Six-County Department of the Environment.
``While none of us want to see permanent barriers erected, those responsible for these sectarian attacks might not be so active if access to and from the area was blocked,'' said Hartley. ``These gates are serving no purpose if they remain open at times when it is convenient for loyalists to wreak havoc on innocent residents.''
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