Police appeal over arson attacks

A number of houses in west Belfast were damaged in arson attacks

Police have appealed for calm after a series of incidents in west Belfast.

On Tuesday, a man was forced to move out of his house in the Ballymurphy area.

On Monday night, a house in Ballymurphy Parade was badly damaged with a petrol bomb. A short time later, a vehicle was set on fire at nearby Rock Grove.

One line of inquiry is that the attacks are linked to the killing of Gerard Devlin in west Belfast on Friday.

Superintendent Peter Farrar said he believed there had been nine attacks on homes since the killing.

"We want these attacks to stop once and for all," he said.

"I see great signs within the community of people trying to make it stop.

"So I would appeal to them to keep that good work going and to work with the police and we will do whatever we can to help them."

Fire officers called to deal with the fires on Monday night came under attack from stone-throwers at one point.

A number of other arson attacks on houses in Whitecliff Parade were also reported earlier on Monday.

No-one was injured in any of these incidents.