The police have issued a warning about the potential for dissident Republicans to cause public disorder during the Easter holiday.
Chief Constable Simon Byrne stated at a meeting of the Policing Board that the disturbances may be an attempt to lure officers into gun or explosives attacks.
MI5 has recently raised the terrorism threat level for Northern Ireland to severe, indicating that an attack is highly probable.
There are celebrations commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1998 signature of the Good Friday Agreement.
The agreement ended thirty years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles, which claimed over 3,500 lives.
Mr. Byrne stated that the PSNI had temporarily altered schedules to assign more officers to frontline duties.
Senior detective John Caldwell was shot many times in Omagh, County Tyrone, in February.
The police believe that the dissident republican group New IRA was responsible for the assault on the off-duty officer.
Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton stated after the Policing Board meeting that the PSNI had “very strong community intelligence” that attacks were being planned in Londonderry.
He stated that officers must “be prepared for that, and on Monday, we will be prepared for all contingencies.”
‘Evil males and women’
On Friday, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson disputed that the Stormont parliamentary vacuum has fuelled dissident violence.
Also in protest over post-Brexit trade regulations, the DUP refuses to return to a coalition government.
“It is implausible that evil men and women who perpetrate murder are solely motivated by political circumstances. Sir Jeffrey said separatist republicans killed some of the chief constable’s police officers during Stormont.
The DUP leader added, “Of course we want Stormont to be fully operational, but I didn’t hear the chief constable suggest that when Stormont is fully operational, dissident republicans will put their guns away.”
Gerry Kelly, Sinn Féin’s spokesman on policing, described dissident republican paramilitaries as “a small number of people intent on reversing the peace process, the political process, and everything else for no reason.”
Mr. Kelly stated that the “vast majority of people in the north, throughout Ireland. And elsewhere are completely opposed to them, so they have no support base.”
Sara Canning, the partner of Lyra McKee, has stated that her “heart sinks,” but she is not startled when she learns of the possibility of Easter-related violence linked to dissident Republicans.
Ms. McKee, 29, was shot and died while monitoring turmoil in Derry’s Creggan area on April 18, 2019.
The New IRA previously stated that its members were to blame.
“I can’t say I’m surprised because it’s what we’re used to,” Ms. Canning said.
These individuals must recognize that their time has passed and that there is no longer any support for them.
We want to go forward and provide our children a better life.
Ms. Canning stated that in many areas where these paramilitary organizations flourish, “people are at their breaking point.”
She stated that a lack of community workers and a lack of funding for youth programs in these areas allows these organizations “the perfect opportunity to exert their influence.”
Also Irish deputy prime minister Micheál Martin called a police attack “criminality in its most extreme form” Thursday night in Belfast.
“I believe those who are contemplating this are extremely evil,” he said.
Mr. Byrne previously stated that the upcoming visit of US Vice President Joe Biden in conjunction with the Good Friday Agreement anniversary, which occurs on Monday, would further strain available resources.
About 300 officers from other UK forces will be drafted in to assist.
The estimated cost of the security operation surrounding the presidential visit, anniversary celebrations, and Easter is £7 million.
