Man shot dead in loyalist area of Belfast

A man has died after he was shot while arriving for work in a staunchly loyalist area of south Belfast this morning.

The victim, who has been named locally as Mick Green, was shot several times when he arrived on a motorbike to open up Gilpins furniture store in the Sandy Row area at around 8am.

The shooting is believed to be linked to a violent feud between the UVF and the LVF that has already claimed three lives in recent weeks.

Mr Green, like the three previous victims, had links to the LVF and was from the Ballysillan area of north Belfast.

Local unionist and nationalist politicians have condemned his murder, with the DUP calling on both sides in the loyalist turf war to pull back from the brink before more lives are lost.