Unionists condemn border gunmen as sinister ‘thugs’

Pictures of masked and apparently armed republicans on a road in rural Fermanagh have been condemned by Arlene Foster as images depicting “thugs” who should be “brought to justice”.

The first minister was commenting after the pictures – said to have been taken in the Wattle Bridge area close to the Irish border – were published by the Irish News.

Police officers narrowly escaped injury last August when a bomb exploded at Wattle Bridge as police investigated what turned out to be a hoax device.

The dissident republican Continuity IRA (CIRA) later claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to the newspaper report, CIRA issued a statement along with the new images which are believed to have been taken over the weekend.

In the statement, they claim the pictures show how they “can operate at any time day or night in south Fermanagh”.

The masked me are also said to have fired shot in the nearby Galloon cemetery.

Mrs Foster, who represents the area at Stormont, said: “There is no place for any form of terrorism or paramilitary group in our society. It was never acceptable or justified in the past and neither is it today.

“The last number of weeks has seen people come together and demonstrated the very best of our society through the community response to the Covid outbreak.

“Those who would seek to bring violence onto our streets are a throwback to an age everyone wants to consign to history.”

Mrs Foster added: “The people of Fermanagh do not want such thugs patrolling our roads. Following the disgraceful attack on Kevin Lunney, the community made clear its revulsion for those involved.

“I would hope that anyone with information about who might be involved will ensure the police can apprehend these individuals and ensure they are brought to justice.”

Ulster Unionist Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA Rosemary Barton said it was crucial that the public help police apprehend those responsible.

“The pictures of two masked and armed men on a country lane at Wattle Bridge near the border are a sinister reminder of a painful past that no sane person wants to return to,” she said.

“At a time when the rest of the community is coming together to help battle against the coronavirus, it is telling that these individuals chose to act in this manner. They have nothing positive to offer a single person, they can advance no cause and in reality their only loyalty is crime.

“The police need to remove these people from society and the public need to help the police to do that,” Mrs Barton added.