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19 March 2014

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Masked loyalists in military vehicles paramilitary parade at Twaddell 'civil rights camp'

Photos on social media sites showed masked men in combat fatigues driving military-style jeeps

At the time of writing, none of the usually vocal leaders of the mainstream unionist parties in the Democratic Unionist Party or the Ulster Unionist Party or the hardline Traditional Unionist Voice of Jim Allister has denounced the paramilitary parade

MASKED loyalists in combat fatigues and driving military-style jeeps led a march on Twaddell Avenue in north Belfast on Tuesday night to mark 250 days since the PSNI restricted the route of a contentious Orange Order parade.

Dozens of loyalists carrying banners of outlawed groups such as the UVF and Red Hand Commando, as well as British Army regimental flags and loyalist banners, marched up the Woodvale Road to PSNI lines in Twaddell, demanding to be allowed march past the flashpoint Ardoyne shops area.

The march was led by four military-style jeeps driven by men, some wearing balaclavas, and flying the union flag as well as the flag of the disgraced Ulster Defence Regiment - notorious for its collusion with loyalist death squads. Also present at the event was the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist Party leader Billy Hutchinson and representatives of the UDA-linked Ulster Political Research Group.

At the time of writing, none of the usually vocal leaders of the mainstream unionist parties in the Democratic Unionist Party or the Ulster Unionist Party or the hardline Traditional Unionist Voice of Jim Allister has denounced the paramilitary parade.

Sinn Féin North Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly says the Orange Order and political unionism need to explain the incident:

“This protest is at an interface clearly for the reason to stoke up inter-community tensions. The appearance of this jeep driven by masked men in military fatigues is sinister and designed to intimidate.

“It's time that political unionism and the Orange Order called a halt to this nightly charade and distanced themselves from loyalist paramilitarism which obviously has a huge influence on the protest,”he said.

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