‘Viable device’ found in south Belfast
A suspicious object which sparked a security alert in the Markets area of south Belfast has been declared a “viable device”.
Army bomb experts attended the scene at Friendly Street on Thursday morning and the area was closed off for a time.
A number of homes were also evacuated.
On Friday evening, it was confirmed by police that a viable pipe bomb type device had been found.
“The device has now been taken away for forensic examination,” PSNI Detective Sergeant Dolores Black said.
Earlier, Sinn Féin councillor Deirdre Hargey had said: “This (alert) has been the first of its kind in this community in a long time, so it’s quite out of the ordinary.
“Police are trying to keep the disruption to a minimum, but the local community centre has been opened and police are engaging with local primary schools in terms of coming out at lunch time to stay away from the area and keep safe.”
The alert lasted for much of the day, but has now ended with roads reopened and residents able to return to their homes.
Police are appealing for anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area to contact CID at Musgrave on the non-emergency 101 number, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
