Two injured in fresh separatist attacks in UK's Northern Ireland province

Iran Press TV

Sat Feb 2, 2019 05:11PM

Police in the UK province of Northern Ireland say two men were shot and wounded in "paramilitary style attacks" which was later claimed by a group calling itself the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Police said Friday that they were investigating two separate shootings in the Ballymagorarty area of Londonderry..

"We are treating both incidents as paramilitary-style attacks; attacks that were brutal and vicious and will leave these two men with both physical and psychological scars," said police commander Michelle Boyd.

"These attacks are yet again more examples of how criminal groups seek to control communities through fear and violence," said the police commander.

The attacks are the latest to come from a renewed surge of separatist violence in Northern Ireland, a British province where many people still prefer a separation from London and a union with the Republic of Ireland.

The incident highlighted the threat still posed by militant groups opposed to a 1998 peace deal that largely ended three decades of violence in the British-run province.

London believes that the IRA, known for years of militant activity on the island of Ireland, became defunct following the 1999 implementation of a peace treaty with the Irish government.

Police in Londonderry said the two men injured in shootings were in good condition in a hospital.

Authorities also sought to rejects claims that attacks in the region could mean a fresh surge in religious and sectarian violence.

"Innocent residents shouldn't have to worry about criminal thugs shooting people outside their homes," said the police department in a tweet.