A 21-year-old man was recovering in hospital yesterday after being shot in the leg in the latest paramilitary-style attack in north Belfast. The man was shot once in the lower left leg shortly after 11 p.m. on Sunday in an entry at the rear of Parkmount Parade in the Greencastle area.
An RUC spokesman said the man had been taken from his home in Newtownabbey by three men. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
The director of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Bureau, Mr Vincent McKenna, blamed the Ulster Defence Association for the attack. He said the incident was the latest in a crime and drugs-related "turf war" between various loyalist paramilitary factions in north Belfast.
"There is an important distinction to be made between `punishment attacks' carried out by republicans and those carried out by loyalists. While republicans mainly attack people whom they accuse of `anti-social' behaviour, on the loyalist side it's an internal feud over territory and who is going to be top dog in the drugs and extortion business."
According to RUC figures, loyalists have been responsible for 77 beatings and 26 paramilitary-style shootings since last September, while 14 beatings and six shootings are being attributed to republicans.