UVF boss under guard after NI murder

A loyalist paramilitary chief was under protection tonight after rival gunmen in Belfast murdered a teenager and left a man fighting for his life.

As police swamped the north of the city in a bid to halt feuding terrorists carrying out more killings, personal bodyguards were drafted in to watch over the Ulster Volunteer Force boss.

The move came after four shootings in less than 24 hours involving his organisation and its sworn enemies in the splinter Loyalist Volunteer Force.

In one attack, three gunmen broke into a house at Dhu Varren just before 2am today and opened fire on a 19-year-old man.

The victim, whose partner and their baby were also at home, died later in hospital.

UVF men have been blamed for the murder.

A light blue Peugeot 405 car thought to have been used by the killers was later found on fire.

Soon after, a man jumped from the window of a house in nearby Woodvale Pass as masked men tried to smash their way in.

The retaliation killing followed three earlier attacks blamed on the LVF.

In the most serious, a man in his 20s was shot several times as he walked his dogs past a bonfire site on the Crumlin Road.

He was critically injured in the midnight shooting and underwent emergency surgery.

It also emerged that a mother and child escaped injury early on Sunday morning when shots were fired into a house on Silverstream Avenue and at a nearby address.

One man was arrested by police.

The hatred that has festered between the two organisations ever since UVF men broke away to form the LVF nearly a decade ago shows no sign of abating.

Several men on both sides have been killed as the mutual loathing and desire for supremacy sporadically erupts into all-out violence.

The latest attacks are thought to be linked to a murder in the city earlier this month.

Jameson Lockhart was gunned down as he sat on a lorry in east Belfast on July 1.

The 25-year-old victim, who was from the north of the city and believed to have LVF connections, had been clearing rubble from the site of a demolished bar when the killers struck.

The detective in charge of the latest murder investigation confirmed officers probing the Lockhart assassination have been drafted in to hunt down the killers.

Chief Superintendent Phil Wright said: “I believe all these attacks are down to the loyalist feud. “They were carried out by personalities from these organisations.

“We have got detectives and uniformed staff working on this from the Lockhart murder team.”

As loyalists prepared to light bonfires tonight to mark the beginning of the annual Twelfth of July celebrations, the security forces were attempting to stop further bloodshed.

“I’m sure the public has seen the high visibility of policing that has taken place. We have put these resources in and I’m confident we are doing everything we possibly can,” Mr Wright added.

But sources in the area conceded more attacks were almost inevitable.

“The UVF is on full alert and there is no doubt they will hit back,” one said.

“Their supreme commander has also been given personal bodyguards – it’s that serious.”

Police and political representatives urged those with influence to help calm the situation.

Nigel Dodds, the MP for North Belfast, claimed the public was sickened by the feuding and called for Security Minister Shaun Woodward to give police more support.

The Democratic Unionist representative said: “The ordinary people of north Belfast do not want this violence.

“Shaun Woodward must ensure the police have the necessary resources to deal with everything they have to contend with over the next 48 hours and beyond.

“The lesson of history surely teaches those intent on continuing this violence that it achieves absolutely nothing and that it is the last thing loyalists want.”

Ulster Unionist Chris McGimpsey warned loyalists they were staring into the abyss.

He said: “Both sides need to take a long look at themselves before they plunge our community into a feud.”