Attack blamed on Official IRA

IRAA Group associated with the Official IRA is being blamed for an attack on a man in the Short Strand area of Belfast

IRAA Group associated with the Official IRA is being blamed for an attack on a man in the Short Strand area of Belfast. The man received bruising to his head, neck, torso, arms and hands when six men burst into his home in Bryson Court at around 11.30 p.m. on Sunday. They broke chairs and beat him with the chair legs.

It is understood that during the assault two of the men warned the victim to stay away from dissident members of the Workers' Party, who have begun a "campaign for democracy and revitalisation within the Workers' Party".

The victim said his attackers named two members of the dissident element and warned they would "end up in a hole in the ground". According to republican sources in west Belfast, there have been six attacks involving beatings or shootings by the Official IRA in the city in the past year.