February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
It’s the latest twist in a drugs turf war that has so far left two men dead. The two groups have been at each other’s throats for weeks with dozens of attacks mounted in Belfast and elsewhere.
Even by Belfast standards, the sight of dozens of men openly intimidating others out of their homes was unusual. Reporters and photographers attempting to accurately record the scenes were themselves threatened.
The UVF has sworn to “close down” the smaller LVF in Belfast and has engaged in gun and bomb attacks as well as more undercover forms of intimidation in their bid to clear their rivals from the streets.
The LVF split from the UVF ten years ago for ostensibly political reasons. Its founder was Billy “King Rat” Wright who opposed the UVF ceasefire. The LVF has been involved since in hundreds of sectarian attacks.
It was also involved in the 1999 murder of County Armagh lawyer, Rosemary Nelson, and has since become embroiled in drug-dealing and petty crime, in which guise it has crossed the UVF in a brutal gang turf war.