Tight security as feud tensions high

Searches as tight security presence is maintained

The police and army have been maintaining a strong security presence in west Belfast following the funeral of a second loyalist feud victim on Friday.

Hundreds attended the funeral of Jackie Coulter on Friday afternoon. He was one of two men shot dead while sitting a jeep outside a bookmakers on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast earlier this week.

On Friday evening the security forces mounted a search operation in the lower Shankill area of west Belfast at Boundary Way near the home of convicted loyalist paramilitary Ulster Freedom Fighters leader loyalist Johnny Adair, who was re-arrested on Tuesday night.

Paramilitary wreaths accompanied Jackie Coulter's cortege

The murders of Mr Coulter and Bobby Mahood were blamed on the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) which is involved in a feud with the Ulster Defence Association/Ulster Freedom Fighters (UDA/UFF).

The funeral of Sam Rocket, a man believed to have had connections with the UVF, who is thought to have been murdered in reprisal for the double murder by the UDA/UFF, is to be held on Saturday.

Tensions are high on the Shankill Road Belfast where the feud between the rival loyalist organisations is centred.

For another night, soldiers deployed onto the streets of Belfast to prevent bloodshed for the first time in two years, patrolled the Shankill area and army helicopters kept close surveillance.

Tension raised by the feud has forced 36 families to leave their homes on the Shankill Road. They started applying to be rehoused after the feud flared up at a UDA-linked festival on the road at the weekend.

Sam Rocket, 22, the latest victim of the feud is understood to have had links to the UVF.

He was shot at a house in Summer Street in the loyalist Oldpark area of north Belfast on Wednesday night when his 12-month-old child and girlfriend were inside.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson condemned the attack as "senseless".

UDP politicians attend funeral

On Friday police and soldiers patrolled the area around Mr Coulter's detached house at St Mary's Court in the Shankill Road when more than 1,000 people gathered for his funeral.

Murder victim: UDA man Jackie Coulter

He and Bobby Mahood died after gunmen opened fire on them as they sat in a Land Rover outside a bookmaker's shop.

Senior members of the Ulster Democratic Party, which is linked to the UDA/UFF, including UDP chairman John White and Belfast deputy mayor Frank McCoubrey, attended the funeral.

The cortege stopped briefly outside the Crumlin Road bookmakers where Jackie Coulter was shot.

UDA and UFF wreaths, UFF flags and a wreath from the loyalist splinter group the Loyalist Volunteer Force accompanied the coffin.

He was buried at Roselawn Cemetery outside east Belfast following the private service in his home at St Mary's Court in the Shankill.

Mr Coulter was a close associate of convicted UFF leader Johnny Adair.

Free since September last year under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, Adair's licence was revoked by NI Secretary Peter Mandelson who said he had evidence of the leading loyalist's involvement in commissioning acts of terrorism.

Hundreds attended the funeral of Bobby Mahood as it left his home at Snugville Street off the Shankill Road.

Mr Mahood's coffin was taken to Carnmoney Cemetery in the north of the city for burial.

UDP chairman John White was among the mourners.

Agreement commitment questioned

On Friday Sinn Fein education minister Martin McGuinness called on Mr White to clarify his position on the peace process, saying he was "concerned" about developments within the UDP and UDA.

After a meeting Peter Mandelson to discuss the loyalist feud Mr McGuinness challenged the UDP chairman to state whether he still supported the Good Friday Agreement peace accord in which Northern Ireland's devolved government is based.

Responding to the comments Mr White said his commitment to agreement was as strong as it had been when he helped negotiate it.

"As far as I am concerned the Good Friday Agreement is the only possible solution to creating the political stability we need," he said.