The North's First Minister has accused republicans of having caused the deaths of numerous civilians in Colombia.
Mr David Trimble made his allegation during Ministers' Question Time in the Assembly yesterday in response to Sinn Féin criticism of the number of foreign trips made by Mr Trimble and the Deputy First Minister, Mr Mark Durkan, in recent months.
The First Minister said he was satisfied that his and Mr Durkan's trips had been for the good of the people of Northern Ireland while those made by members of the republican movement to Latin America had led to misery for the civilian population there.
"I am quite satisfied that the visits the Deputy First Minister and myself acting jointly, and indeed our individual visits, were made for the benefit of Northern Ireland.
"I must say they are in very stark contrast to the behaviour of the questioner's [Mr John Kelly of Sinn Féin] colleagues, particularly with regard to Colombia where their activities last weekend saw the deaths of over 60 people sheltering in a church as the result of what Colombians called Irish gas cylinders that were discharged at them.
"I would have thought that the member would have a little bit of concern about his own moral responsibility for being associated with a movement which produced those horrific results," Mr Trimble added.
Sinn Féin MLAs called the comments "disgraceful". Three Irish republicans, Mr Niall Connolly, Mr James Monaghan and Mr Martin McCauley, are currently awaiting trial in Colombia charged with training the country's left-wing FARC guerrillas.
Regarding the number of ministerial trips, the First Minister gave details of seven joint trips he had made with Mr Durkan, 10 trips he had undertaken by himself and another seven undertaken solely by Mr Durkan.
Responding to a question by a DUP MLA, Mr Edwin Poots, on whether the most recent riots in east Belfast were not yet another sign of worsening community relations, Mr Durkan said it was important to be cautious about making sweeping judgments on whether community relations were indeed deteriorating.