13 February 1997 Edition

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RIR soldier fires shot

By Mick Naughton.

A member of a British army patrol fired a shot as Gerry Adams and Gerry Kelly were being held at a checkpoint on the Dublin to Belfast road near Banbridge.

The incident took place on Thursday evening 6 February as the Sinn Féin pair returned to Belfast. They were stopped by RIR soldiers when the shot was fired. Adams dismissed British army claims that a lorry had had a blow-out: ``what we heard was definitely a shot. We drove back along the road to check and found no evidence to suggest a lorry had had a blow-out''.

Adams and Kelly have lodged a complaint with their lawyers.

The incident occurred close to where members of the UVF, dressed as British soldiers, killed members of the Miami showband in 1975.

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