Republican graves vandalised by suspected fascists

Police in the North are investigating the desecration of republican graves at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast.

Sinn Féin says racist and sectarian slogans were daubed on the graves earlier this year, along with graffiti supporting the far-right British fascist group Combat 18.

The graves targeted in the attack include that of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.

Sinn Féin is linking the incident to the campaign of intimidation being carried out against eastern Europeans in Belfast.

Twenty Romanian families were forced to flee their homes in the south of the city earlier this week after enduring several days of abuse and attacks from local loyalists.