“Non-conformist republican groups” merge under banner of the “IRA”

Under the banner of the “IRA”, the Real IRA, Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) as well as smaller groups often referred to as Óglaigh na hÉireann have formed a “unified structure under a single leadership”. They will be “subservient to the constitution of the Irish Republican Army”. Only the Continuity IRA remains outside the new partnership. Up to now politicians have tended to belittle the dissident threat, pointing to its fragmentation. Consolidated factions under a single brand will surely raise …

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“There was contact with senior PSNI personnel explaining whose home it was…”

More difficulties with “due process” for Sinn Féin.  This time it’s in Londonderry, where the mayor of the city, Sinn Féin councillor Kevin Campbell, has had his home searched by police and laptops and mobile phones taken away.  The BBC report quotes SF MLA Raymond McCartney. Sinn Fein have described the raid as “inexplicable” and said the party will be demanding answers. “There was contact with senior PSNI personnel explaining whose home it was,” said Raymond McCartney. “They were in …

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RAAD interview on Newsnight prompts more questions

Newsnight’s featured report last night by the excellent Liz MacKean on RAADS in Derry (extract) was a welcome if depressing reminder to the wider audience that is hasn’t all gone away you know.  RAAD boasted that they have all the “resources” of the IRA. This is what you’d expect them to say, in the interview which was restaged with the use of actors. Just as graphic in the report was the sight of rubble and graffiti, the debris of a disturbed community, among so much …

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Would the legalisation of cannibis help reduce the drug problem in Derry (and elsewhere)?

Right, I have no personal interest in pushing this line (‘if you’ll forgive the pun’). In other words I don’t do illegal drugs. That may be a result of the happy accident of never having really smoked and on the few occasions I’ve been offered canibis (a long long long time ago), it made only me splutter… A second deterrent was the connection it implies to a vast underworld that survives and gets by in an unregulated and brutal criminal …

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“I don’t think this generation is any different than the last…”

The Guardian’s Henry McDonald reports from anarchic Londonderry on the continuing activities of vigilante group, Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD).  Watch the accompanying video report here.  From the Guardian report Some RAAD members are ex-Provisionals who back the peace process but still take up the gun against members of their own communities accused of antisocial activities. Others connected to RAAD have joined organisations such as the Real IRA, which is also running a campaign of terror attacks against police officers, security …

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“RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry…”

With Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) claiming responsibility for recent shootings and threats in anarchic Londonderry, in the Belfast Telegraph Eamonn McCann provides some clarity on the vigilante group’s background. News reports which have lumped RAAD in with the Real IRA or Continuity IRA are wide of the mark and a source of confusion. RAAD was founded in 2008 by members and recent ex-members of the Provisional IRA in Derry. It made its ‘debut’ in April the following year, admitting responsibility …

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“They seek to intimidate and bully through the threat of violence…”

Given the PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggot’s current concern about certain communities, and confidence, the BBC report on the 18-year-old shot in both legs in the Creggan estate in Londonderry on Thursday night is worth noting.  From the BBC report His mother was told to take him to the location, and waited at the top of a lane while he was shot twice. “I know what happened was wrong but hopefully he’ll get help,” she said. The dissident group Republican …

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RAADical reporting? Pinch of salt required?

A pipebomb attack on a car in Strabane and the foolish heroism of a local man in dealing with the device has been widely reported. In recent coverage much of the MSM has dropped the term ‘community worker’ to describe him, he is now reported as a ‘taxi driver’ facing a death threat from a ‘criminal gang’ along with the intended target of the device (an alleged drug dealer he has no connection with, who has already left the country). …

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R.A.A.D. all about it!

Republican Action Against Drugs have been engaging in something of a PR drive in Strabane of late. The group, which claims to target drug dealers in republican areas has been mainly active in the north-west (i.e. Derry and Strabane) since last year, but have also claimed responsibility for a recent shooting in Newry. During election week at the start of May, the group released this photo to Strabane Chronicle journalist Conor Sharkey. It shows gunmen saluting dead RAAD member Roger …

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