IRA did not order nine out of North, says SF

Sinn Fein has denied IRA involvement in a threat against nine people living in Bessbrook, south Armagh. The eight men and one woman were ordered to leave the North or face being killed by a group claiming to be Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD), a cover name for the IRA.

The threat was issued through a letter, purporting to come from DAAD, which was sent to the Housing Executive. It was passed by the RUC to those named in it.

Mr Danny Kennedy, an Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for the area, described the incident as "very serious and sinister". He challenged Sinn Fein to dissociate itself from the threat. "There is a clear linkage between DAAD and the Provisional IRA and once again the validity of the IRA ceasefire is questioned", he said.

Mr Vincent McKenna, of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Bureau, said that he had spoken to three of the nine people who had been threatened. He believed that the IRA was behind the expulsion orders.

Mr Conor Murphy, a Sinn Fein member, said that he had been contacted by five of those threatened. He had checked with his sources and had been assured that the IRA had not issued the warnings.

Between 1995 and 1998 DAAD is believed to have been responsible for the murders of nine people it claimed were involved in drug-dealing. Security sources maintain that DAAD is a cover name for the IRA.

Mr Murphy said that he did not believe DAAD was behind the threats, because the organisation did not operate in the area. "I suspect that the warning may have been issued by some individual in the area frustrated at the level of drugs activity in and around Bessbrook. But I believe it is more likely that the threat is linked to mischief-making or dirty tricks by elements within the anti-Belfast Agreement grouping."

Mr Murphy said he did not believe that dissident republicans such as the "Real IRA" or Continuity IRA were involved. "I don't know for sure, but I would be surprised if they were operating in the Bessbrook area", he added.

Mr John Fee, a local SDLP Assembly member, said that he was inclined to accept Mr Murphy's assurances that the IRA was not involved, either directly or indirectly.

Mr Fee, Mr Kennedy and Mr Murphy agreed that there was a serious drug problem in Bess brook and around Newry.