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05/11/2002
LVF and UDA feud over
The feud between loyalist paramilitary groups the Loyalist Volunteer Force and the Ulster Defence Association is over.
The announcement came on Tuesday afternoon after the two groups met at a hotel venue today to agree a joint statement to end the bitter feud in which three men lost their lives.
The feud began shortly after the murder of LVF member Stephen Warnock in Newtownards in September.
An attempt on the life of leading UDA member Jim Gray, also took place in September in retaliation.
Then, a 41-year-old man, Geoffrey Thomas Gray, was shot dead at Ravenhill Avenue, also in east Belfast.
A third man, Alexander McKinley, died a week after being shot in southeast Belfast.
In the statement given to the BBC, the LVF said after a series of meetings over the past weeks, it totally accepted that the UDA in east Belfast was not involved in the murder of Mr Warnock. The joint statement says both organisations have now resolved their differences and have appointed intermediaries so that conflict could be avoided between the two loyalist paramilitary groups in the future.
The LVF was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 after he was expelled from the Ulster Volunteer Force. The group have been linked to many murders, with the most prominent being Sunday World journalist Martin O'Hagan. Former Secretary of State Dr John Reid proscribed the group in October last year.
The UDA was launched in 1971, and as such is the largest protestant paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland.
It also has been linked to the murder of both Catholics and Protestants. They do not support the Good Friday Agreement and on 12th October last year Dr Reid declared their ceasefire over.
(AMcE)
The announcement came on Tuesday afternoon after the two groups met at a hotel venue today to agree a joint statement to end the bitter feud in which three men lost their lives.
The feud began shortly after the murder of LVF member Stephen Warnock in Newtownards in September.
An attempt on the life of leading UDA member Jim Gray, also took place in September in retaliation.
Then, a 41-year-old man, Geoffrey Thomas Gray, was shot dead at Ravenhill Avenue, also in east Belfast.
A third man, Alexander McKinley, died a week after being shot in southeast Belfast.
In the statement given to the BBC, the LVF said after a series of meetings over the past weeks, it totally accepted that the UDA in east Belfast was not involved in the murder of Mr Warnock. The joint statement says both organisations have now resolved their differences and have appointed intermediaries so that conflict could be avoided between the two loyalist paramilitary groups in the future.
The LVF was formed by Billy Wright in 1996 after he was expelled from the Ulster Volunteer Force. The group have been linked to many murders, with the most prominent being Sunday World journalist Martin O'Hagan. Former Secretary of State Dr John Reid proscribed the group in October last year.
The UDA was launched in 1971, and as such is the largest protestant paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland.
It also has been linked to the murder of both Catholics and Protestants. They do not support the Good Friday Agreement and on 12th October last year Dr Reid declared their ceasefire over.
(AMcE)
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