Opinion

Allison Morris: Geographical spread of dissident attacks a cause of concern

Scene of a major search in the Creggan estate of Derry on Monday. Picture Margaret McLaughlin.
Scene of a major search in the Creggan estate of Derry on Monday. Picture Margaret McLaughlin. Scene of a major search in the Creggan estate of Derry on Monday. Picture Margaret McLaughlin.

SO far this year dissident republicans have made seven failed attempts to kill police officers.

But that figure only represents the attacks we know about, with more thwarted at an earlier stage through intelligence-led intervention, either from information provided by informers or covert surveillance.

Brexit has given propaganda to those still wedded to violent republicanism but it is not the cause of their ongoing activity.

Only the most deluded would believe that the sporadic and haphazard campaign they are currently engaged in will achieve what the Provisional IRA could not and 'drive the Brits from Ireland'.

Instead the remaining active dissident republican groups are ego-driven, personality and rivalry based.

While in the main ineffective, this should not mean that they should be treated with complacency.

The ongoing recruitment of very young people means that if the current pattern continues these organisations will grow not just in numbers but in capability.

Teenagers with no fear or regard for themselves or others are a dangerously unpredictable foe.

The geographical spread of attacks should also raise concerns.

In the past such incidents were largely confined to dissident 'hotspots' in Derry and parts of Belfast.

However, in the last year there have been attempts to kill police in Counties Down, Fermanagh, Armagh, Tyrone, Derry and in east Belfast.

This spread of activity makes predicting and preventing attacks much more difficult.

At a time when talk of Irish unity and a future border poll are very much on the political agenda, the remaining armed republican groups have no reasonable excuse for their ongoing 'campaign'.

The problem for the PSNI is that they don't care about justification and thrive on chaos.

The mortar bomb discovered in Strabane at the weekend
The mortar bomb discovered in Strabane at the weekend The mortar bomb discovered in Strabane at the weekend