Nationalist woman escapes abduction
The loyalist protest directed at school children attending Holy
Cross primary school and the media attention given to it has
ensured that the continuing campaign of violence against
nationalists has gone largely unnoticed.
As An Phoblacht went to press last week, a family of four from
the County Down town of Ballynahinch escaped injury as two
devices exploded at their home causing extensive damage.
The double bombing was only the latest attack on the nationalist
community in Ballynahinch blamed on the UDA.
Belfast
Over the weekend, a 33-year-old Ardoyne woman returning home from
a friend's house was the target of an abduction attempt at the
junction of Jamaica Street and Alliance Avenue.
Mother of three Ann Kelly said that she became worried when she
noticed a car carrying four men coming towards her from the
direction of the Loyalist Glenbryn area.
The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday morning, 1
September, and the streets were empty.
Kelly says the car drove past her, then turned and drove back
towards the top of Alliance Avenue and returned along the street
towards her.
At this point the woman was in a state of panic and tried to walk
faster, but the loyalists pulled in behind her and she was
grabbed from behind and two of the loyalists tried to drag her
towards the car, thought to be a red Ford Sierra.
As she tried to fight the men off and scream for help she heard
one of the men in the car saying, `shut the Fenian bitch up, keep
her quiet'. During the struggle one of the attackers punched
Kelly in the face and around the head.
``I just kept struggling and put my feet against the car to stop
them getting me in. I then sunk my teeth into one of the men's
hands, drawing blood, and he let go of me,'' said Ann Kelly. ``I
somehow managed to get free from the other man and run towards my
house''
The loyalists didn't pursue the woman but jumped into the car and
sped off.
Kelly says that she is now going to move as her assailants saw
her going into her house and now know where she lives.
Not far from the Ardoyne attack, at Westland Gardens, a group of
up to six loyalists attacked two teenagers using iron bars.
Trouble flared in the area at about 1.30am when the teenagers
were set upon as the got out of a taxi. The loyalists pulled up
behind them in a car and jumped out brandishing iron bars,
hammers and sticks.
As well as severelt injuring the youths, the the loyalist gang
broke windows in two houses and smashed the windscreen of a car.
The mother of one of the injured youths said he received injuries
to his head, back and shoulder with a hammer and could have been
killed.
As neighbours came out to defend and protect their homes, a gang
of up to 70 loyalists appeared from the direction of Oldpark
Road.
Fierce hand to hand fighting then erupted as the loyalists
attempted to attack the area until the RUC arrived. Residents
criticised the fact that when they came on the scene, the RUC
pointed their Land Rovers at the residents as if they were
responsible for the trouble. No action was taken against the
loyalists.
As with other vulnerable nationalist areas throughout the North,
Westland Gardens has been under constant attack from the UDA
based in the nearby Westland Estate.
Pipe bombers and paint bombers have targeted homes in a series of
organised attacks over the past year with a number of people
being forced to leave their homes.
Speaking to An Phoblacht, Sinn Féin's Eoin O'Broin said that
while the area had been attacked on numerous occasions previously
the fact that the loyalists had attacked in such large numbers
from the top end was, ``a serious development and a serious
escalation''.
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