The loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Defence Association has said it will defend “Britishness” against what it said was a threat by republican.
In a statement released to Belfast's News Letternewspaper to coincide with Armistice Day, the group said the response would be non-violent.
The group accused Sinn Fein of propaganda across the North aimed at “challenging our very [British] existence at every level”
It accused republicans of “racism, ignorance and bigotry”, citing the demonstration at the recent British army homecoming parade in Belfast.
In a report released yesterday on paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) said the UDA was genuinely committed to a political path, but that it was hampered by a serious split within its ranks.
The southeast Antrim "brigade" of the UDA, which broke away from the main organisation, was now properly regarded as a separate organisation.
