TENSION has returned to the streets of west Belfast after the first direct political killing since the IRA and loyalist ceasefires were declared.
Mr Gino Gallagher (32), the chief of staff of the INLA, was shot dead yesterday by a lone gunman inside a social security office on the Falls Road. He was a single man with twin daughters, aged three.
Police were last night checking the office's internal security system to see if the murder was captured on camera.
No group has claimed responsibility for the killing, but there is speculation that the IRA, elements of British intelligence or disgruntled former INLA members could have been involved.
The West Belfast MP, Dr Joe Hendron of the SDLP, said that, from his initial knowledge, the killing had nothing to do with the IRA and was not a breach of the ceasefire.
The INLA, which describes itself as Marxist, is the only paramilitary group in the North which has refused to call a ceasefire. It is extremely critical of the peace process.
It has engaged in an 18 month tactical suspension of violence, but Mr Gallagher had spoken of a strong possibility of a return to violence. He had said that Irish unity or socialism could not be achieved through constitutional politics.
The INLA last night pledged to find Mr Gallagher's killers. In a statement, it described him as "a fighter in the revolutionary struggle for national liberation and socialism".
It said "Those who committed this deed will be uncovered and tracked down. Our resolve remains constant. The struggle will go on."
The RUC and members of Sinn Fein, speaking unofficially, have blamed the killing on an internal feud. However, an IRSP spokesman, Mr Kevin McQuillan, angrily denied this. "There is absolutely no evidence for such allegations, which suit our enemies" he said.
Last April a statement was read out in a Dublin courtroom after four men from the North were arrested following an arms find in Ballbriggan. It announced an unconditional INLA ceasefire.
Mr Gallagher supported by others said that the men did not have the authority to make the statement. He then took over as chief of staff.
The men behind the statement were expelled from the republican socialist movement, but a violent split was avoided. An IRSP source said that the movement was considering the possibility that people loyal to these former members could have carried out the attack.
"We are looking at every option, but our internal problems had been sorted out. These people were a beaten docket. It would be pointless for anyone loyal to them to do something this. But it would suit some one else who wanted to kill Gino to make it look like an internal feud."
Mr Gallagher had expressed fears a fortnight ago that the IRA would attack the IRSP. Several IRA contacts are understood to have warned him that his life was in danger.