Arm na Poblachta claim it left Derry devices; ‘sinister’ threat to families of police condemned

In a statement issued to the Irish News using a recognised codeword, Arm na Poblachta claimed it was responsible for the security alert outside Derry.

It also told the newspaper it was responsible for last month’s security alert in the Corrody Road area of Gobnascale.

A threat against the families of serving police officers, which appeared in the statement, has drawn widespread condemnation.

“We are now looking at the families of PSNI officers as legitimate targets.

"The PSNI have targeted republican sympathisers, now republicans will target family members of PSNI officers,” the statement declared.

SDLP MLA and Policing Board member, Mark H. Durkan said: “This is absolutely reprehensible. The purpose of this chilling threat issued by faceless thugs is to instil fear within our society.

"The notion that not only police officers will be targeted for simply doing their job but also their family members, is appalling. Sadly, officers’ families have lived under threat for many years here.

“I cannot begin to imagine the stress of saying goodbye to your partner every morning as they head to work, worried about the dangers of what their day will entail or if they will return home that evening.

"These families are already living with anxiety on a daily basis and now have the added stress of also being a target. The impact this will have on people and how they live their lives cannot be underestimated. It’s sickening.”

In a statement the Policing Board said: “No one should have to live under a threat because of a career choice, and neither should any member of their family. This is a sinister threat, designed to cause fear. It is condemned by the Board and must be condemned right across the community.”

Prior to these most recent claims ANP claimed responsibility for the failed bomb attack on the Waterside police station on Sunday, November 20, the planting of a roadside bomb in Belfast in November 2017 and an attempted bomb attack on police near Dungiven on March 12, 2022.

Vigilance urged after report of a ‘device’ in Derry