The INLA claim to have disbanded and disarmed a vigilante group which fired a shot through the front door of a house in Strabane at the weekend.
The claim came after a shot was fired at the house in the Carlton Drive area of the town in the early hours of Friday morning. No-one was injured in the attack.
The republican organisation said it gave the vigilante group an ultimatum; to disban
d or face "the consequences."
Willie Gallagher, a spokesperson for the IRSP, the political wing of the INLA, said they had been asked to intervene shortly after the shooting.
"It appears that this shot was fired by a group of vigilantes who seem intent on using guns to solve petty disputes and personal greivances. The INLA got involved and have told us that, with the assistance of other republican groups, they investigated the matter and identified those responsible. The INLA then went to this group and gave them an ultimatum to disband and disarm or face the consequences. The INLA told us the vigilante group agreed to disband and have handed over their weapons to responsible people," he said.
The IRSP representative also described the group as "potentially very dangerous. "Firing guns blindly into people's houses could have devastating consequences. This action was reminiscent of the methods that loyalist death squads used during the conflict when shooting blindly into the homes of nationalists. At some future stage they could have killed someone. They are not republicans and were just out for their own ends. It is our understanding that some of those involved may now have left Strabane," he added.
