Pub attack linked to feud

There has been concern in Derry after unionist paramilitary feuding broke out in a gun attack at a pub in the city.

A 23-year-old-man was injured in the attack on the Cosy Inn on the outskirts of the mainly Protestant Waterside area of the city.

DUP assembly member Willie Hay said the shooting was the result of feuding between rival paramilitary UVF and UDA factions in the city. He said the attack could have been a massacre.

“This goes back to feuding quite a while ago in that particular area when a number of men were beaten up.

“Something must have spooked them because what the police are saying is that they intended going into the bar. All of it is very worrying.”

One man who was working in the bar but did not want to be named said it was mayhem when the attack took place.

“It was all over in a matter of seconds. There was a lot of panic and anger,” he said.

The man said there were mostly couples in the bar at the time of the attack.

“It is very frightening, you are watching everyone who comes through the door now,” he said.

The victim was shot twice - in the left thigh and abdomen - and has undergone surgery.

More than 1.5 million Euros of assets belonging to a murdered unionist paramilitary leader have been seized in a landmark ruling at Belfast High Court.

The 45-year-old was shot dead in the driveway of his home in Crawfordsburn, Co Down in May 2003. A member of the Red Hand Commando organisation, his death was believed to be part of a unionist feud.

Urgent Appeal