Protestant families leave north Belfast homes

Ten Protestant families abandoned their north Belfast homes today claiming they had been forced out by years of intimidation …

Ten Protestant families abandoned their north Belfast homes today claiming they had been forced out by years of intimidation by republicans.

The people living there simply can't take any more
Democratic Unionist Party MP Mr Nigel Dodds

Their decision to leave the Torrens estate comes just months after another 13 families left the estate.

Mr Nigel Dodds, the Democratic Unionist Party MP for the area, said: "This is the most tragic story to emerge from the entire Troubles, in terms of the displacement of a community.

"This isolated Protestant community has been systematically targeted by republicans over many years. The people living there simply can't take any more."

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Sinn Fein councillor Mr Eoin O'Broin rejected the allegations of republican intimidation.

"There is no campaign, organised or otherwise, against the Protestant community that lives in Torrens," he said.

"It is an interface community and it has suffered from a high level of interface violence over the last number of years like many of the interfaces in north Belfast.

"While these families have taken the decision to move out of the estate, it is not because of either a campaign of republican intimidation or ongoing sectarian violence."

A Housing Executive spokeswoman confirmed that a total of 23 families had asked to be moved, with the last 10 going today.

"Unfortunately this situation is not unusual for the Housing Executive, which has had to respond to the re-housing needs of both communities in Northern Ireland over the past 30 years," she said.

"The Protestant community in Torrens has been declining in numbers over recent years and there is currently little to no demand for housing from the Protestant community for this area."