BBC


Hundreds attended a UDA show of strength

Representatives of the loyalist paramilitary UDA have met police and Protestant clergy in north Belfast to discuss a dispute within its ranks.

The UDA leadership said it wanted a peaceful resolution to its dispute with a “renegade faction”.

Several hundred people in the Shankill Road area attended a public show of strength by the UDA on Saturday.

It was in response to a stand-off between rival factions following the appointment of a new leadership.

On Friday, the UDA in north Belfast issued a statement saying it was replacing those who had remained loyal to Ihab and Andre Shoukri, who were expelled from the organisation last month.

Petrol bombs

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the group’s so-called ‘inner council’ claimed that a crowd of 80 supporters of the Shoukri faction had attacked a number of homes.

It insisted that the organisation’s leadership wanted a “peaceful end” to the dispute and called on the police to deal with the situation.

But it said the organisation would respond if there were further attacks on its members.

On Friday night in north Belfast, police seized a shotgun, ammunition and petrol bombs following a stand-off between up to 80 members of rival UDA factions. One man has been charged.

More talks are believed to be planned for Monday.