The search of a house in Boundy Way, off the Lower Shankill area of Belfast has ended. A number of imitation firearms were found at the scene. Two people, who were arrested during the search, have been released. The convicted UFF leader Johnny Adair lived in the area until his detention on Tuesday night. The RUC have given no further details of the operation.
The second of three men killed this week in the Loyalists’ paramilitary feud was buried this afternoon. British troops and RUC members lined the route of the funeral of Jackie Coulter in Belfast. He was shot in the Crumlin Road on Monday, along with Bobby Mahood, both were associated with the Ulster Freedom Fighters, who are part of the Ulster Defence Association. The coffin was draped in two UFF flags while more than 1,000 men marched slowly past. During the service, a wreath was delivered from the third of the main Loyalist paramilitary groups, the Loyalist Volunteer Force.
The funeral of the third man to die in the violence, Sam Rocket, will take place tomorrow. He was linked to the UDA's opponents, the Ulster Volunteer Force. The other man, Bobby Mahood, was buried yesterday. Security on the Shankill Road area of Belfast has been further strengthened following the shooting of 22-year-old Sam Rocket on Wednesday. Troops sent in to the Shankill area on Monday were deployed on foot patrols last night. A British Army spokesman said the discovery of weapons and explosives in the city in the past two days suggests that Loyalists are re-arming.
Earlier today the leader of one of the Loyalist parties involved in the paramilitary feud in Belfast said that his commitment to the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement remains as strong as when he helped to negotiate it. John White, who leads the Ulster Democratic Party, which is associated with the Ulster Defence Association, was responding to Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness who challenged him to state his position clearly. Mr White said that he did not need to answer questions raised by Mr McGuinness.
