Simmering loyalist feud erupts with man’s ‘execution’
The victim related to a senior member of the Ulster Defence Association was shot six times as he stood in the kitchen of a house in the Oldpark area after an all-night party.
The gunman, thought to a member of the gang led by Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair, burst into the house and fired at point-blank range killing his victim instantly. Another man in the room was uninjured.
The victim was 22-year-old Jonathan Stewart. His family insisted yesterday that he was not involved in any of the paramilitary organisations although his uncle is a senior figure in the UDA.
Detective Superintendent Roy Suitters of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: "This was an execution which has brought more grief to yet another family in this area. It has got to stop."
The killing brought fears of retaliation against Adair and his associates who are mostly based in a housing estate in the lower Shankill which has been turned into an armed fortress since the feud began in October.
Extra police and troops were at once moved into the area but it is feared that more killings are likely.
Adair and his main henchman, double murderer John White were expelled from the UDA three months ago after he had tried to take over the entire organisation and its lucrative rackets like drugs, prostitution and protection.
Meanwhile, Richard Egan, the former United States Ambassador to Ireland, has revealed that he resigned out of frustration about being left out of the loop in relation to the North's peace process.
The ambassador, who took up the post just 15 months ago, last Friday told his staff he was resigning. Officials said it was "self initiated and for personal reasons".
But Roger Marino, who co-founded the data storage company EMC with Mr Egan, said that the businessman turned diplomat told him he felt frustrated at the many administrative duties he faced while being left out of the wider discussions about peace and jobs in the region.
"He felt he was doing a lot of things that weren't as productive as they could've been, and felt a little frustrated," Mr Marino said.
Sources in Washington said that the deputy chief of mission in Ireland, Kai Fort, will serve as acting ambassador once Mr Egan leaves the Ballsbridge embassy some time early in the new year.
