Post by Frenchie on Nov 22, 2009 11:33:09 GMT 1
Dissident republicans have been blamed for firing shots at police in County Fermanagh and for a later attack on the Policing Board headquarters in Belfast.
Officers returned fire after they were shot at in Garrison, close to the Irish border. No-one was injured in the incident on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, bomb experts are examining a car which ignited outside the Policing Board's headquarters in Clarendon Dock.
The car had earlier been driven through a barrier by two men who then ran off.
It is understood no-one was injured in the incident.
Both Garrison and the area around Clarendon Dock have been cordoned off while police examine the scene.
Tommy Gallagher, an SDLP assembly member for Fermanagh, said the incident was worrying for local people.
"It just looks like a rewind to the pattern in many border villages 30 years ago. So the people responsible for this have to be condemned," he said.
BBC Ireland correspondent Mark Simpson said that Fermanagh was one of the two areas to have seen most dissident activity, along with north Armagh.
"The likes of the Real IRA have been pretty active there in recent weeks. That's who the finger of blame will be pointing at, at this very early stage," he said.
In line with agreed protocol the Police Ombudsman has been informed of the incident in County Fermanagh.
Earlier this month, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) reported that the dissident republican threat in Northern Ireland was at its highest level for almost six years.
The IMC said the two main dissident republican groups, the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA, were working more closely together to increase the threat posed to security forces.
On 7 March, the Real IRA killed sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, at Massereene Army base in Antrim.
Two days later the Continuity IRA shot PSNI Constable Stephen Paul Carroll in Craigavon, County Armagh.
In the period covered by the report, 1 March until 31 August, there have been 11 attempts to kill other PSNI officers in Northern Ireland
Officers returned fire after they were shot at in Garrison, close to the Irish border. No-one was injured in the incident on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, bomb experts are examining a car which ignited outside the Policing Board's headquarters in Clarendon Dock.
The car had earlier been driven through a barrier by two men who then ran off.
It is understood no-one was injured in the incident.
Both Garrison and the area around Clarendon Dock have been cordoned off while police examine the scene.
Tommy Gallagher, an SDLP assembly member for Fermanagh, said the incident was worrying for local people.
"It just looks like a rewind to the pattern in many border villages 30 years ago. So the people responsible for this have to be condemned," he said.
BBC Ireland correspondent Mark Simpson said that Fermanagh was one of the two areas to have seen most dissident activity, along with north Armagh.
"The likes of the Real IRA have been pretty active there in recent weeks. That's who the finger of blame will be pointing at, at this very early stage," he said.
In line with agreed protocol the Police Ombudsman has been informed of the incident in County Fermanagh.
Earlier this month, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) reported that the dissident republican threat in Northern Ireland was at its highest level for almost six years.
The IMC said the two main dissident republican groups, the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA, were working more closely together to increase the threat posed to security forces.
On 7 March, the Real IRA killed sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, at Massereene Army base in Antrim.
Two days later the Continuity IRA shot PSNI Constable Stephen Paul Carroll in Craigavon, County Armagh.
In the period covered by the report, 1 March until 31 August, there have been 11 attempts to kill other PSNI officers in Northern Ireland