Dissident bomb ‘misguided’

An attempted bomb attack in Derry on Thursday has been linked to dissident republicans.

Armed men hijacked a van in the Altcar Park area of the city and ordered the driver to take the vehicle, which contained a blast incendiary device, to the Strand Road PSNI police station.

However, the driver abandoned the van a short distance away and raised the alarm around 12.30am.

A British army bomb disposal team evacuated nine homes before declaring the area safe.

Derry Sinn Féin councillor Maeve McLaughlin criticised those responsible for the incident.

“On a local level this caused a lot of disruption for people living in the area. In the wider context, we believe that people involved in this type of activity are clearly misguided,” she said.

Residents criticised the poor level of information provided by the PSNI during the operation.

However, Chief Inspector Ken Finney defended the PSNI’s actions. He said: “ “The blame for any inconvenience suffered by householders rests firmly with those who planned and carried out the attack,” he said.

UVF TO REMAIN ACTIVE

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the unionist paramilitary UVF is to delay any announcement on its future and on its weapons until after the November 24th deadline set by London and Dublin for progress towards power sharing.

The UVF is to remain active while waiting to see what shape any “plan B” by the British and Irish governments will take if the DUP and Sinn Féin do not agree for an Executive at Stormont by the end of the year.

In an interview with journalists, a UVF spokesman said: “Whether it is called plan B, joint management or joint authority, it spells the same thing to this organisation.” Claiming to speak with the full authority of the UVF leadership, the spokesman said that weapons decommissioning was “not on our agenda” and that their loyalist campaign was “justified” and “legitimate” because “the constitutional integrity of Northern Ireland was under threat”.

“The pro-union people of Northern Ireland were under threat and this organisation responded commensurate to that level of threat.” He added: “Whether the current consultation has reached its conclusion or not, the UVF will make no statement of future intentions until November 24th, and until we see in front of our eyes what this plan B scenario entails.”

Sinn Féin Newry Armagh MP Conor Murphy said the UVF comments implied a threat of violence.

“Given the opportunities for progress now, both governments and all political parties reject such threats and also that both governments live up to their commitments in terms of moving on after November 24th if the DUP refuse to rise to the challenge of forming an Executive,” he said.

Urgent Appeal