'Viable' pipe bomb defused in Dunmurry

An Army bomb team was called to the Stewartstown Road in Dunmurry at about 11am on Friday and the area was cordoned off for much of the day.

The device was made safe after a number of controlled explosions were carried out on the object which was found in the Glasvey area.

Police urged residents in Dunmurry to remain vigilant and not to touch suspicious objects

It follows further trouble in the area on Thursday night when stones and petrol bombs were thrown.

There were similar incidents last Saturday night when a local councillor claimed 'sinister elements' were behind trouble during which a crowd of 30 youths attacked police with petrol bombs. The incident happened at around 9.20pm while police were attending a disturbance at Stewartstown Road close to the Bell Steel Road.

Two youths, aged 14 and 15, were arrested during the incident but there were no reports of any injuries.

The 15-year-old was charged with riotous behaviour and will appear in Lisburn youth court on March 18, whilst the 14-year-old boy was released pending report.

Sinn Fein Councillor Angela Nelson said she believed that whilst dangerous, the events on Saturday evening were not politically motivated but "hijinks" by local youths.

Ms Nelson said: "Although it was a very dangerous exercise it has been ascertained locally that there were local youths involved in hijinks more than anything organised. It wasn't an organised attack on the PSNI. Obviously I would condemn it, this is dangerous and can have dangerous consequences."

However, SDLP Councillor Brian Heading said he was concerned that sinister elements organised the petrol bombing and rioting.

"This happened too quickly and on far too large a scale to be in any way spontaneous" he said. "At the very least it was the classic kiddie riot organised by text message, but in such cases petrol bombs rarely appear so quickly. There is every reason to be vigilant in case dissidents are encouraging or instigating the rioting. Even if they were not, they may well move in now to encourage another round of trouble.

"The community response must be in two parts. The police must have our clear backing in tackling disorder by proper means without the sort of kneejerk criticism which we have heard so often from self-appointed 'community activists'. If the police step over the mark we have proper accountability mechanisms to deal with that.

"But our primary effort must be in prevention, and that responsibility falls first and foremost on parents who must ensure that their children – and we are often talking about quite young children – are not involved. Petrol bombs can kill. The dissidents don't care about that and don't care if young lives are ruined. We have got to separate them from our vulnerable young.

"The young people of today's generation have never witnessed anything like this and for some at the moment it will be a form of entertainment but they don't understand the ramifications of it from both a personal and community aspect."