Loyalists try to abduct woman

Loyalists attempted to abduct a Catholic woman, stabbed an 18-year-old Catholic and forced a public house to close in a weekend of sectarian attacks in County Derry and Ballymena.

Derry

A Catholic woman wearing a GAA top was headbutted by unionist thugs and an attempt was made to abduct her after she went into the Three Mile House bar in Drumahoe, County Derry with a friend to use the toilet around 7pm on Sunday night 15 August.

Both women were subjected to sectarian abuse and had their exit blocked.

A man who had been waiting for the two women outside was also assaulted as the sectarian mob tried to drag him from the car.

The driver of the vehicle was from Ballygawley in County Tyrone and it is believed the two females may also be from the area.

Two unionists were questioned about the abduction bid but were later released by the PSNI.

Sinn Féin Derry Councillor Lynn Fleming warned Catholics to be extra vigilant following the kidnap attempt.

In a separate incident, a bus carrying Derry GAA supporters from Croke Park was attacked by a crowd of loyalists at Newbuildings outside Derry on Saturday 14 August.

A window was broken on the bus when it stopped at traffic lights at around 10.45pm.

The trip's organiser, Bobby Bradley, said every effort had been made to avoid confrontation with loyalists. "There were no flags on the bus and as it entered Newbuildings, the interior lights were dimmed, but when we stopped at the traffic lights some boys who were standing drinking outside a bar started stoning the bus. Luckily no one was injured".

Newbuildings has been the scene of frequent sectarian attacks on buses carrying Derry GAA and soccer fans.

Ballymena, County Antrim

An 18-year-old Catholic man was attacked and beaten by a gang of unionist thugs as he walked with a girlfriend along the Cushendall Road on Friday 13 August.

The Catholic man, believed to be from south Derry, was attacked close to Ballymena Cemetery, when four loyalists got out of a car and beat him with iron bars.

The man was left with a head wound and needed seven staples at Antrim Area Hospital; the girl was threatened but uninjured.

And unionist paramilitaries in Ballymena have issued death threats to five young nationalists in the town.

The youths were visited by the PSNI on Tuesday morning and informed that their lives were under threat. North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan said unionist paramilitaries were behind the threats, calling it the "latest stage in a long campaign against Catholics living in Ballymena".

Garvagh, County Derry

Four Catholic customers of the Clock bar in Garvagh had to be taken to hospital for treatment after unionist thugs attacked them as they left the public house at closing time on Sunday night, 15 August.

The men were attempting to get into a taxi minibus outside the bar when they were assaulted by the sectarian gang, who used belts to attack staff and customers and broke windows. Staff and customers were forced to barricade themselves inside the bar.

One man who is married to a Catholic was verbally abused and called a "fenian lover" as he tried to board the taxi.

The four Catholics were released from hospital after treatment.

An eyewitness said those involved had returned to Garvagh after attending Saturday's Apprentice Boys parade in Derry.

Customers and staff have been targeted by loyalists in the past and the owners are now believed to have decided to close the pub in the predominantly unionist town.