Mayor of Derry, Councillor Brenda Stevenson, has condemned the distress and disruption caused to residents during last night’s security alert in the Creggan area of the city.
Twenty-four families were moved from their homes after a hijacked Sainsbury’s delivery van was abandoned at the gates of St Mary’s Church in Fanad Drive at around 8.45pm.
The van was earlier stopped on Iniscarn Road by two masked men, one of them carrying a suspected fire arm.
After placing a suspect device on the van, the driver was ordered to take the vehicle to The Diamond in the city centre.
However, he drove it a short distance before abandoning it and raising the alarm.
Police believe dissident republicans were behind the incident, the second in the city in 48 hours.
Cllr Stevenson said: “I want to issue a very strong message to the perpetrators, that violence did not work in the past, it won’t work now and it won’t work in the future.”
She concluded: “I call on those responsible for these attacks to engage in dialogue with the mainstream political parties to further peace in our city and end violence for good.”
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