Loyalist petrol-bombers burn 4-year-old

» Peadar Whelan

‘I make a direct appeal to parents to make sure that their children aren’t caught up in negative incidents at the interface’

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD GIRL was burned but narrowly escaped more serious injury when a petrol-bomb thrown by loyalists exploded beside her in the nationalist Short Strand area on Tuesday afternoon.

The child was playing near the Bryson Street interface when the indiscriminate attack was carried out.

Local resident James Callaghan was quick to react to the attack, which occurred near the front of his house where his grand-daughter and her friend were playing.

“I heard two glass bottles breaking outside. I saw a flash and ran outside. I just grabbed the girls and dragged them inside.”

Speaking to An Phoblacht, local Sinn Féin Councilor Niall Ó Donnghaile confirmed that one of the children suffered “minor burn injuries”. He said:

“Tension in and around the Short Strand has been rising in the past weeks. Next week’s mini-Twelfth, when over 30 loyalist bands march around the district, always creates problems

“With this petrol-bomb attack and the increase in loyalist gangs hanging about at the interfaces we are worried that something more serious might happen.”

Ó Donnghaile has appealed to everyone with influence in east Belfast, whether political leaders, church leaders, community and youth workers or the PSNI themselves to play a positive role in defusing tensions. He said:

“It is past time that communities across this part of Belfast were allowed to live in peace without the fear of attack or the terrible tension than can hang over our neighbourhoods.

“I want to be very clear and unambiguous – no attacks on our communities should be qualified or justified, regardless where they emanate from. Leaders are meant to lead.

“We must do all we can to ensure a peaceful summer for everyone in east Belfast and I make a direct appeal to parents to help us by making sure that their children aren’t caught up in negative incidents at the interface.

“I will work with leaders from within the unionist community at any stage, as we have done in the past, to ensure we can help achieve a safe and content community for all in east Belfast but Sinn Féin cannot do this alone. It will need the collective leadership of all political and community leaders in east Belfast.”