Post by Wasp on Sept 24, 2009 17:13:05 GMT
A BOMB was defused outside an Orange hall as the new Chief Constable pledged to defeat the dissidents.
Army bomb disposal experts made safe what was described as a "viable device" near Lavin Orange Hall in Armoy. It was the fourth bomb defused in the Province in less than a week.
The Drones Road was closed for most of Tuesday after the device was found at around 9.30am.
Lavin Orange Hall is still in the process of being rebuilt after it was almost destroyed in a malicious fire in July 2006.
On Monday, a similar device was made safe after being found by a member of the public in a layby near the junction of Moyarget Road and Magheramore Road in Ballycastle.
Last Thursday, a pipe bomb was found in a car in Waterloo Park in north Belfast, while on the same day a coffee jar bomb was found inside a car in Rostulla Drive in Jordanstown.
It had been reported that dissident republicans had been planning a "spectacular" attack to coincide with new chief constable Matt Baggott's first day in Ulster.
Mr Baggott said yesterday that the threat posed by violent extremists was real and should not be underplayed.
"The way to deal with it is for communities themselves in the vast, vast majority to say no to the people who want to return to the past. The greatest resource we have here is the communities themselves," he said.
DUP Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson called on the entire community to get behind the police in their efforts to thwart terrorist attacks.
"As we know the police warned a few days ago that they were expecting an increase in attacks as the new chief constable takes up his post," he said.
"True to these warnings, the dissidents have been very active but thankfully their efforts to date have been unsuccessful thanks to the vigilance of the security forces which has saved lives.
"But it is important the entire community gets behind the police against these terrorists who would seek to drag us back to the past.
"These people have nothing to offer to the people of Northern Ireland whether through rioting on the streets of Lurgan or placing bombs in north Antrim.
"The new chief constable, as he starts his career in Northern Ireland, will have our support but he also needs the resources necessary to continue to thwart the efforts of these terrorists."
Army bomb disposal experts made safe what was described as a "viable device" near Lavin Orange Hall in Armoy. It was the fourth bomb defused in the Province in less than a week.
The Drones Road was closed for most of Tuesday after the device was found at around 9.30am.
Lavin Orange Hall is still in the process of being rebuilt after it was almost destroyed in a malicious fire in July 2006.
On Monday, a similar device was made safe after being found by a member of the public in a layby near the junction of Moyarget Road and Magheramore Road in Ballycastle.
Last Thursday, a pipe bomb was found in a car in Waterloo Park in north Belfast, while on the same day a coffee jar bomb was found inside a car in Rostulla Drive in Jordanstown.
It had been reported that dissident republicans had been planning a "spectacular" attack to coincide with new chief constable Matt Baggott's first day in Ulster.
Mr Baggott said yesterday that the threat posed by violent extremists was real and should not be underplayed.
"The way to deal with it is for communities themselves in the vast, vast majority to say no to the people who want to return to the past. The greatest resource we have here is the communities themselves," he said.
DUP Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson called on the entire community to get behind the police in their efforts to thwart terrorist attacks.
"As we know the police warned a few days ago that they were expecting an increase in attacks as the new chief constable takes up his post," he said.
"True to these warnings, the dissidents have been very active but thankfully their efforts to date have been unsuccessful thanks to the vigilance of the security forces which has saved lives.
"But it is important the entire community gets behind the police against these terrorists who would seek to drag us back to the past.
"These people have nothing to offer to the people of Northern Ireland whether through rioting on the streets of Lurgan or placing bombs in north Antrim.
"The new chief constable, as he starts his career in Northern Ireland, will have our support but he also needs the resources necessary to continue to thwart the efforts of these terrorists."