The loyalist insider said Lisa's killing and disappearance has caused huge disquiet in the south-east Antrim UVF and RHC. Officers from the PSNI's Paramilitary Crime Task Force also seized drugs, cash and expensive cars and jewellery in an operation carried out against the criminal activities of the UVF crime gang. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. [50], In 1974, hardliners staged a coup and took over the Brigade Staff. But its first victims, a Protestant woman and two Catholic men, had no connections with the IRA. [30], On 27 May, Spence sent four UVF members to kill IRA volunteer Leo Martin, who lived in Belfast. we solemnly warn the authorities to make no more speeches of appeasement. [156][157] These shipments were considered enough for the UVF/UDA to wage its campaign, most of which were used to kill its victims. The UVF's leadership is based in Belfast and known as the Brigade Staff. The South East Antrim UDA jealously guards its supremacy by forcing non-affiliated drug dealers to kneel through coercion and direct violence, which is a pattern seen throughout the six counties as the different UDA and UVF groupings use their muscle to maintain their dominance. In 1984, the UVF attempted to kill the northern editor of the Sunday World, Jim Campbell after he had exposed the paramilitary activities of Mid-Ulster brigadier Robin Jackson. [94][95] A dissident Republican was arrested for "the attempted murder of police officers in east Belfast" after shots were fired upon the police. The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. . [34] Unionist support for O'Neill waned, and on 28 April he resigned as Prime Minister. Within the UDA was a group tasked with launching paramilitary attacks; it used the covername Ulster Freedom Fighters ( UFF) so that the UDA would not be outlawed. Although many are not active, sources say they are still "card carrying" members. Assistant chief constable Drew Harris in a statement said "The UVF are subject to an organised crime investigation as an organised crime group. [43] This came to a climax on 4 December, when the UVF bombed McGurk's Bar, a Catholic-owned pub in Belfast. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during The Troubles. 2017date: South East Antrim Brigade feud, The UDA divides its membership into six vaguely geographic areas which it labels "brigades" with the six commanders styled "Brigadiers". Read about our approach to external linking. [126][127] The UVF did not return to regular bombings until the early 1990s when it obtained a quantity of the mining explosive Powergel. The trip had been roundly criticised by the Unionist establishment and raised cries that the UDA was adopting socialism, and so Harding Smith used it re-ignite his attempts to take charge. [85], In the twentieth IMC report, the group was said to be continuing to put its weapons "beyond reach", (in the group's own words) to downsize, and reduce the criminality of the group. Is climate change killing Australian wine? Is UVFs Beast in the East behind new wave of riots? The UVF struck back on Monday morning, shooting dead two Adair associates, Jackie Coulter and Bobby Mahood, as they sat in a Range Rover on the Crumlin Road. [60] Only last year, a former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party Dawn Purvis said the UVF had not gone anywhere despite decommissioning its weapons in 2009. Briefings, obtained by BBC NI's Spotlight programme, cover all the paramilitary groups and are based on PSNI and MI5 intelligence. [1] The bad blood originated from an incident in the Ulster Workers' Council strike of May 1974 when the two groups were co-operating in support of the Ulster Workers' Council. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. In 1972, the UVF's imprisoned leader Gusty Spence was at liberty for four months following a staged kidnapping by UVF volunteers. US. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. [103], On 23 March 2019, eleven alleged UVF members were arrested during a total of 14 searches conducted in Belfast, Newtownards and Comber and the suspects, aged between 22 and 48, were taken into police custody for questioning. [19] The LVF then linked up with Johnny Adair's C Company for a time as their feud with the UVF took centre stage. Also shot up was the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) headquarters which faced the pub. Democratic Unionist Party MP Gavin Robinson said his party were mindful of the situation. Both pubs were wrecked and a number of people were wounded. [144] In 2002 the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee estimated the UVF's annual running costs at 12 million per year, against an annual fundraising capability of 1.5 million. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, the shooting dead of five Catholics at a Belfast bookmakers, According to an MI5/police intelligence assessment in 2021, asking to be taken off the list of proscribed organisations, said groups like them should "simply go away", MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Banana artwork in Seoul museum eaten by visitor, Trevelyan relative 'would consider' famine payment, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, Four dead after suspected pigeon racer dispute, Ding becomes China's first male world chess champion, Indian 'killer' elephant relocated to tiger reserve. All shut down except for a lone UVF-affiliated pub on the Shankill Road. Though, for its own purposes, it assumed the same name it has nothing else in common. The UVF stated that the attempted attack was a protest against the Irish Army units "still massed on the border in County Donegal". It was formed in 1966 and adopted the names and symbols of the original UVF,. Although Wright had been expelled from the UVF, threatened with execution and an order to leave Northern Ireland, which he defied, the feud was largely contained during his life and the two major eruptions came after his death. There are an estimated 12,500 members of loyalist paramilitary groups in NI, a leaked security assessment has shown. In 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission confirmed the feud was over, but said the LVF's involvement with organised crime and drugs continued. [26] Some unionists feared Irish nationalism and launched an opposing response in Northern Ireland. [31] He died of his wounds on 11 June. View the 2022 Southern Utah Football Schedule at FBSchedules.com. [68], The UVF also attacked republican paramilitaries and political activists. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. The UDA had remained a legal organisation until it was banned in August 1992. "The untouchable informers facing exposure at last". [65], In the 1980s, the UVF was greatly reduced by a series of police informers. This was in retaliation for attacks on Loyalist homes the previous weekend and after a young girl was hit in the face with a brick by Republicans. From that time until the early 1990s the Mid-Ulster Brigade was led by Robin "the Jackal" Jackson, who then passed the leadership to Billy Wright. In 1971, these ramped up their activity against the British Army and RUC. It was also stated that the West Belfast breakaway leaders had recruited Jimbo Simpson, a former North Belfast brigadier driven out of Northern Ireland over a decade earlier, and were seeking to restore him to his former role. UVF bosses in the Rathcoole estate in. Twenty tons of ammonium nitrate was also stolen from the Belfast docks.[45]. [63], The UVF's nickname is "Blacknecks", derived from their uniform of black polo neck jumper, black trousers, black leather jacket, black forage cap, along with the UVF badge and belt. [36], The UVF had launched its first attack in the Republic of Ireland on 5 August 1969, when it bombed the RT Television Centre in Dublin. Spotlight is repeated on BBC Two NI on Wednesday and will be available on the BBC iPlayer. [54] A political wing was formed in June 1974, the Volunteer Political Party led by UVF Chief of Staff Ken Gibson, which contested West Belfast in the October 1974 general election, polling 2,690 votes (6%). From the 1990s until his shooting death in 2003 by rival associates, Gregg served as brigadier of the UDA's South East Antrim Brigade. Their weapons stock-piles are to be retained under the watch of the UVF leadership. He planned to have it unfurled as the procession passed the Rex Bar, a UVF haunt, in order to antagonise the UVF and try and drag it into conflict with as much of the UDA as possible. We are heavily armed Protestants dedicated to this cause. According to an MI5/police intelligence assessment in 2021, the South East Antrim UDA"has access to arms and is heavily involved in drugs supply, community coercion, intimidation and other criminality". Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud. A vicious attack on a leading UVF man by a hated South East Antrim UDA figure has caused serious tension between the rival loyalist groups. [1] [2] He was alleged to have taken over the north Belfast Ulster Defence Association (UDA) leadership. The UDA's Johnny Adair supported the LVF and used the feud to stoke up the troubles that eventually flared in his feud with the UVF later that year. Loyalist Volunteer Force [ edit] However, whilst the statement was signed by McDonald and Birch, no representative of the West Belfast Brigade had added their signature. Another loyalist paramilitary organisation called Ulster Resistance was formed on 10 November 1986. St Patrick's Day . This was followed by another pub fight in North Belfast in March and this time the UVF members returned armed and shot and killed both Goatley and Fulton, who had been involved in the earlier fight. This era also saw a more widespread targeting on the UVF's part of IRA and Sinn Fin members, beginning with the killing of senior IRA member Larry Marley[67] and a failed attempt on the life of a leading republican which left three Catholic civilians dead. [75], There followed years of violence between the two organisations. '[164], The UVF's satellite organisation, the Red Hand Commando, was described by the IMC in 2004 as "heavily involved" in drug dealing. [26] Spence later wrote "At the time, the attitude was that if you couldn't get an IRA man you should shoot a Taig, he's your last resort". Other military-style ranks are used by the group for its members, Timeline of Ulster Defence Association actions, Timeline of Ulster Volunteer Force actions, Timeline of Loyalist Volunteer Force actions, "UVF disbands unit linked to taxi murder", "Building bridges with the UDA". Latest News. They managed to procure a large cache of weapons and ammunition including L1A1 Self-Loading Rifles, Browning pistols, and Sterling submachine guns. [96], In July 2011, a UVF flag flying in Limavady was deemed legal by the PSNI after the police had received complaints about the flag from nationalist politicians. According to the report they agreed that West Belfast Brigade members loyal to the wider UDA should establish a new command structure for the brigade which would then take the lead in ousting Mo Courtney, Jim Spence and Eric McKee from their existing leadership positions. Spence was later convicted of the murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Donoghue noted the links between Orange Lodges in Scotland and loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland and that membership of the Orange Order in Scotland at the time was 80,000, and was concentrated in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Inverness. [6] The UDA initially believed the IRA were responsible and intended to kidnap twenty Catholics in retaliation. Widely known as a man with a fearsome reputation, Gregg was considered a " hawk " in loyalist circles. UVF bosses in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey are now demanding SEA UDA leader Gary Fisher punishes his out-of-control member, who was also involved in an assault on a teenage boy the same night. Fire engulfed the house next door, badly burning the elderly Protestant widow who lived there. [5], The following month, UDA Colonel Hugh McVeigh and his aide David Douglas were the next to die, kidnapped by the UVF on the Shankill Road and taken to Carrickfergus where they were beaten before being killed near Islandmagee. [72] According to Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN), the UVF killed 17 active and four former republican paramilitaries. [17][18][19][20][21] The other main loyalist paramilitary group during the conflict was the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), which had a much larger membership. ", This page was last edited on 23 April 2023, at 12:08. page 1. Read about our approach to external linking. [98] Much of the UVF's orchestration was carried out by its senior members in East Belfast, where many attacks on the PSNI and on residents of the Short Strand enclave took place. [158], The UVF have been implicated in drug dealing in areas from where they draw their support. University of Central Arkansas. Shaw refused, and the UDA men left, but they returned a short while later with a shotgun, determined to close the pub down. Uniquely among loyalist paramilitaries it uses an Irish language motto. Since the ceasefire, the UVF has been involved in rioting, drug dealing, organised crime, loan-sharking and prostitution. [11] Amidst an atmosphere of increasing tension in the area, Adair decided to host a "Loyalist Day of Culture" on the Shankill on Saturday 19 August 2000, which saw thousands of UDA members from across Northern Ireland descend on his Lower Shankill stronghold, where a series of newly commissioned murals were officially unveiled on a day which also featured a huge UDA/UFF parade and armed UDA/UFF show of strength. "Overstating and Misjudging the Prospects of Civil War: The Ulster Volunteer Force and the Irish Volunteers in the Home Rule Crisis, 19121914." [130] Members were disciplined after they carried out an unsanctioned theft of 8 million of paintings from an estate in Co Wicklow in April 1974. In recent years, it has been linked to serious criminality including drug dealing. However, and unknown to the UDA beyond its "C Company", Adair had an LVF flag delivered to the Lower Shankill on the morning of the celebrations. Hanna and Jackson have both been implicated by journalist Joe Tiernan and RUC Special Patrol Group (SPG) officer John Weir as having led one of the units that bombed Dublin. She died of her injuries on 27 June. [28], Tyrie was forced to resign in March 1988 and the new men, most of whom had been trained up by McMichael, turned on some of the veterans whom Tyrie had protected. Along with the newly formed Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the UVF started an armed campaign against the Catholic population of Northern Ireland.
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