VIDEO: Dissident gunman appears at riot
A DISSIDENT republican gunman appeared at last Monday’s riot in Armagh as a Twelfth of July parade was dispersing.
Footage of the gunman has been uploaded on the YouTube website by dissident republicans who claimed that the man was member of the Continuity IRA and was armed with an AK47 assault rifle.
They claimed that he “came down to protect the community from the RUC” and comments on the website also goaded the police about the dissident murders of Stephen Carroll in Craigavon.
In the video, which appears to have been taken on a mobile phone, the masked gunman is seen walking towards debris burning on a footpath and then returning to a cheer from a man who is part of a group of about 20 people standing watching.
A PSNI spokeswoman told the News Letter: “While we do not monitor internet sites on a day-to-day basis, however, when something of a criminal nature is brought to our attention, we will thoroughly investigate it.
“Appropriate action is taken when criminal offences are detected within our jurisdiction.”
Victims’ campaigner Willie Frazer said that the footage was further evidence of the “brazenness” of dissident republicans in the county.
He said that there had been dozens of attacks and instances of intimidation and harassment over the Twelfth, many in isolated border areas.
The FAIR director said that many of the families targeted by dissident republicans were too terrified to speak out.
“The orchestrated attacks are aimed to strike fear into the isolated Protestant community along the border and to drive them from their homes and farms.
“Orange halls have been attacked — some totally destroyed, like one near Darkley — and other halls have been attacked but the most worrying thing is the escalation in attacks and incidents at isolated homes.”
Mr Frazer claimed that dissident republicans were creating “no go areas” because police were not prepared to move out of fear that they were being lured into traps.
“I have spend much time over the recent days with Protestant families who are suffering continual intimidation.
“Low level but high intensity attacks are being used with nightly nuisance and intimidation tactics used to make life unbearable for local people.
“Harassment in the middle of the night, with doors being kicked, windows knocked and animals stolen, which on a regular nightly basis becomes unbearable, especially for elderly people or widows living on their own.”
