One dissident republican source told the 'Journal' that active republicans in the city are concerned that a new campaign of assassinating dissidents will begin.

"It is only a matter of time before one of us is taken out by the Brits or some branch of their so-called security agencies. It is always a possibility but it seems more likely now. We would expect an attempt to be made to take someone out soon."

Meanwhile, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement (32CSM) in Derry says its members are being harassed by the PSNI on a daily basis.
A spokesperson for the 32CSM claimed the PSNI attempted to recruit two members of the group as informers and threatened their families when they refused.

One of the men, who did not wish to be named, said: "I have been stopped several times by the same plain clothes PSNI man over the last two months. He has called at my home and stopped my car, offering me money to work for them. I keep refusing and on Tuesday he stopped me again. I have recently split up with my ex-girlfriend, whose brother is in the police, and we have a child together. This policeman who keeps stopping me told me he would fix it so I wouldn't see my child again," he alleged.

Another man produced an audio recording, which the 'Journal' has heard, which, he claims, is evidence of PSNI officers attempting to recruit him.

"I have been getting harassed regularly and it is getting worse," he said. "I had several members of my family killed by the RUC in Belfast and when I was stopped last month they said they wouldn't want me to lose any more members of my family. I took that to be a veiled threat that my family would be targeted if I didn't become an informer," he claimed.

A spokesperson for the PSNI declined to comment on the allegations. "We do not comment on specific intelligence matters and no inference should be taken from this."