Suspicious activity in Cavan, Tyrone

Republican Sinn Féin has condemned Garda police in the 26 Counties for “vicious” actions on Tuesday and Wednesday, when approximately 30 members of the Special Detective Unit and other militarised police carried out searches and the destruction of farmland in West Cavan.

Gardaí said they had found a weapon, a claim viewed with scepticism by local residents.

“Local people were searched and put on lockdown and not allowed to travel,” the group said in a statement.

“Sinn Féin Poblachtach stand by the local people and want to know will the local farmers be compensated by the state for the destruction of their land.”

Across the border, two Saoradh members in Tyrone have had their vehicles targeted in an apparent upsurge of British military intelligence activity in the Cookstown area.

In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday 23 November, an attempt to tamper with a car belonging to a member of the party was prevented when an infrared alarm was set off in the yard of his mechanic. The intruders fled when emergency flood lighting lit the entire area.

The second incident occurred some 48 hours later when an attempt to gain access to another party member’s vehicle at his workplace saw an SOS phone alert inadvertently issued.

The party believes the two incidents point to an increase in MI5 activity in the wider Tyrone area. They suspect attempts are being made to plant surveillance equipment within vehicles belonging to local republicans.

“Saoradh encourage all republicans and the wider public to be vigilant and urge anyone who witnesses any suspicious behaviour in their area which may be attributed to MI5 or Crown Forces to contact their local Saoradh representatives immediately,” they said.

Urgent Appeal