Loyalist attacks threatened against immigrant workers in Ballymena

Ireland Online:

The PSNI are warning that loyalists are planning a wave of attacks against migrant workers in Ballymena, Co Antrim.

Police believe paramilitaries are plotting arson and criminal damage attacks on homes and vehicles belonging to ethnic minorities.

Loyalist youths are increasingly targeting migrant workers in areas where the non-nationals are moving to take up jobs that local people will not do.

The police commander in Ballymena, Superintendent Terry Shevlin, said patrols in the area have been stepped up as a result of the threats.

Police have contacted the main employers of migrant workers and an ethnic liaison group in the town to make them aware of the possibility of attacks.

The town has an ethnic minority population of about 700 and there were 52 such attacks reported to the police in 2004-2005, including intimidation, assault and criminal damage.

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