Republican News · Thursday 5 September 2002

Sustained Ardoyne attacks

In the latest sectarian attack in North Belfast, a Catholic family had a narrow escape after loyalists threw a nail bomb into the back yard of their Wyndham Street home in North Belfast at around 11.50pm on Tuesday 3 September.

The family were badly shaken after the device exploded. This was the second attack to be carried out against the area in a week.

In a separate attack, at 2pm on Tuesday, loyalists attempted to knock down a nationalist woman as she crossed at a zebra crossing in North Queen Street at the New Lodge Road area. The woman said the occupants of the car shouted sectarian abuse as they sped off towards the loyalist Tiger's Bay.

Sinn Féin councillor Gerard Brophy criticised the RUC/PSNI who took over an hour to arrive at the scene, even though a massive RUC/PSNI barracks is just 400 yards away.

From Thursday 29 August, loyalists were attacking houses in Alliance Avenue. They also returned to attacking houses at Wyndham Street, which borders the loyalist Torrens area. In this series of attacks, pipe bombs, petrol bombs and stones were used. During a petrol attack on a home in Alliance, a nine-year-old girl had to be taken to hospital after her home was set alight.

Over the next three nights, homes on Alliance Avenue were under constant attack from the loyalist Glenbryn with petrol bombs and missiles. On Saturday night, 31 August, a taxi driver says a group of loyalists who had gathered at the end of Heskith Road pointed an AK47 assault rifle at him as he drove past.

Then on Sunday night, an attempt was made to burn down Our Lady of Mercy primary school after flammable liquid was thrown into the building.