Councillor blames INLA for homeless centre attack

Police at the scene of the crime in Townsend Street earlier this week

A Belfast councillor has blamed republican paramilitaries in the INLA for an attack on an organisation which helps homeless people in the west of the city.

A car was rammed into the Welcome Organisation on Townsend Street on Tuesday and the vehicle was then set on fire, causing damage to the building.

Graffiti was later daubed on a nearby wall, threatening to shoot workmen who carried out repairs for the charity.

There have been ongoing concerns about anti-social behaviour and drug use near the centre.

But Councillor Ron McDowell, from the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party, accused the the INLA of "gross hypocrisy" given its own history of dealing drugs.

The graffiti appeared on a wall in nearby Milford Close in the Divis area on Wednesday

The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) is a republican paramilitary group which was believed to be responsible for about 120 killings during the Troubles.

Mr McDowell, who is the TUV's deputy leader, said: "The INLA have been called out by the media in the past for having a multi-million pound drug empire in west Belfast.

"And now they're targeting people who are vulnerable with drugs in the area," he said.

The TUV councillor acknowledged that the Welcome Organisation was at the centre of a "perfect storm" because of addiction, homelessness and other social problems in Belfast.

He said that paramilitary violence and threats must be condemned.

But he added: "It's a shame then that paramilitary action is bringing forward a conversation which perhaps should have happened a long time ago."

The front of the charity's building was rammed by a car on Tuesday

Local residents have been vocal in their concerns around anti-social behaviour in the area, some of which they believe service users of the centre are responsible for.

The Welcome Organisation is a Belfast-based charity which has been operating from the Townsend Street site for about 12 years.

Its chairperson, Jude Whyte, said earlier this week that the charity may have to consider leaving the area if it cannot gain the support of the local community.

Mr Whyte added that those behind the threatening graffiti should "get a bucket of paint and wipe it off the wall and hang your head in shame".