Road 'Remains Closed' In Northern Alert

As the North's police said it could be Thursday morning before the Antrim Road in north Belfast is reopened after a large bomb - believed to have been left by dissident republicans - is made safe by the Army, local politicians, including DUP MP, Nigel Dodds have condemned those responsible for an ongoing bomb alert in the Glandore Avenue area.

Mr Dodds said: "It is scandalous that some 100 families have been evacuated from their homes because of this security alert.

"I understand that three coded warnings have been received this week, first saying an explosive device had been left in the Antrim Road area, before subsequently specifying the Glandore area.

"Whether or not there is actually a device, this is a grossly irresponsible act designed to cause severe disruption to the residents of this mixed area.

"Those responsible prove only how totally inconsiderate they are of other peoples' well-being and I condemn their actions utterly. It is clear they have nothing to offer society only a return to the fears and disruption of the past," said the DUP politician.

The North Belfast Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly has also slammed those responsible for causing major disruption on the Antrim Road following phone calls claiming that there is an unexploded bomb in the area.

As the police this morning blamed dissident republicans for being behind a suspected "large improvised explosive device", the republican politician said: "I understand that the PSNI have received three calls, accompanied with a codeword, claiming that there is an unexploded bomb on the Antrim Road.

"The caller did not give any specific details, therefore it is difficult to know the location or if indeed is a bomb," he said.

"The people involved have no support for any of these actions and I condemn it outright. They have put countless lives at risk by their reckless actions," he insisted.

The alert started on Tuesday evening after calls claiming to be from dissident republican group Oglaigh na heireann with the police unable to confirm yet if the device is a real bomb or a hoax.

The road has been closed since 4pm and is likely to remain so until this evening. Up to 100 homes and businesses have been evacuated as Army bomb disposal experts are still examining the device and have carried out controlled explosions on a suspect car.

The PSNI Chief Superintendent Mark Hamilton said: "There's no way I'm going to be opening the road again until I'm sure that there's no risk of death or injury to anybody living or working in that area of the Antrim Road.

"We've received a number of calls over a 24-hour period and the last one in particular led us to believe we were looking for an unexploded bomb in an unstable condition."

"If this turns out to be a real device, its madness, because it will have been lying there and hundreds of people will have walked past it," he said.

Meanwhile, the SDLP North Belfast Councillor Cathal Mullaghan has condemned those responsible for planting the suspicious object.

Cllr Mullaghan said: "This is the second day in a row that there has been widespread traffic disruption in north Belfast as a result of people planting these devices.

"Those responsible have nothing positive to offer our community and cause nothing but disruption and misery to people. They must realise that they have no public support whatsoever and will not succeed in their campaign of terror.

"I strongly appeal to anyone with information on the planting of these suspicious devices to pass it on to the police immediately," he said.

(BMcC/GK)