A 13-YEAR-OLD boy was in hospital last night following a paramilitary-style attack in Newtownards, Co Down. A gang of masked men wielding baseball bats attacked him as he played with his friends. An RUC chief inspector, Mr David Green, described the attack as "brutal and barbaric". He said a gun was put to the boy's head during the attack and he was told he had 24 hours to leave the area.
Three of the masked men ran off after an initial assault on the boy, but a fourth continued to beat the boy while he lay on the ground, Mr Green added.
The incident occurred at 9 p.m. on Saturday at a place known locally as the quarry, close to North Road. The boy was singled out and threatened by the men, who then beat him. He suffered a broken arm, several broken fingers, cuts and severe bruising. His condition in hospital was described as "stable but shocked".
A spokesman for Families Against Intimidation and Terror (FAIT), Mr Vincent McKenna, said the attack was carried out by loyalists, most likely the UDA.
"This is just a crazy attack, I'm appalled. These men are just gutless animals," he said.
An RUC spokeswoman condemned the attack and said it was a shocking attack on a child.
Meanwhile, community-based systems of Restorative Justice currently being set up across Belfast have received support from republicans as an alternative to paramilitary policing and so-called "punishment" beating and shootings, according to a local newspaper report.
In an interview with the Andersonstown News, a spokesman for the republican movement said locals should bring their problems to the "highly-trained workers" operating the schemes and not to the IRA.
The Restorative Justice system, which attempts to end anti-social behaviour, is based on mediation between victim and perpetrator. The British government supports the programmes and a number of pilot schemes have been set up in republican and loyalist areas.
"We want people to support the Restorative Justice approach by bringing their problems to the dedicated and highly-trained workers operating the programmes rather than to the IRA. We believe that they now offer the best solution to resolving the severe problems of anti-social behaviour in our districts," the republican spokesman said.
The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, said on February 16th there appeared to be an end to paramilitary beatings by republicans and an apparent reduction in the level of UVF attacks. However, FAIT claimed recently that the IRA was embarking on a new campaign of mutilation following two attacks in Belfast and one in Derry 10 days ago.