Those responsible for the overnight security alert in Derry’s Creggan Estate have been condemned by Sinn Fein councillor of the area, Kevin Campbell.
Over 20 families, many of them elderly who were moved out of their homes after hijacked van was abandoned at the gates of St Mary’s Church, have been allowed to return after the incident was declared a hoax.
At approximately 8.45pm a Sainsbury’s delivery van was stopped at nearby Iniscarn Road by two masked men, one carrying a suspected firearm.
A suspicious object was placed in the van and the driver told to make his way to The Diamond in the city centre.
Police believe dissident republicans were behind the incident.
It was the second such incident in the city within 48 hours.
Cllr Campbell said the incident “served no purpose whatsoever.”
He added: “It must have been terrifying experience for the driver of the van to have this happen while going about his normal business.
“Once again those responsible have shown complete disregard for the people of Creggan and the wider city.
“Residents, many of them elderly, had to be evacuated from their homes while this vehicle was examined.
“This has brought nothing but disruption to the area and it is totally unacceptable.
“The fact that this is the second such hijacking incident in the city in a number of days is very concerning.
“The people of Derry have made it clear they do not what this type of thing.”
Cllr Campbell concluded`: “The city is moving forward in an atmosphere of hope and we will not allow it to be dragged back to the past by a tiny minority intent on causing disruption.”
On Wednesday, two masked men placed a wheelie bin in a furniture delivery fan at Ederowen Park in the Galliagh area and told the driver to take it to Strand Road police station.
However, he stopped the vehicle less than two miles away close to St Columb’s College on Buncrana Road.
The incident was also declared a hoax some eight years later after it was examined by bomb disposal experts.
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