Catholic school attacked

I'm sure by now you've heard the news that a Catholic primary school in Ballymena was attacked by loyalists in the north Antrim area.

The school on the Cullybackey Road was set alight by arsonists last night, causing damage to part of the building.

The previous night, five petrol bombs were thrown into another Catholic school in the Harryville area of Ballymena.

The incidents are the latest in a spate of attacks on Catholic homes and property across north Antrim that are apparently being orchestrated by the Ulster Defence Association.

This is disgraceful. What kind of depraved individuals commit an arson attack on a school? My guess is the loyalists are not happy with the recent moves by the IRA to end their armed campaign and that they are looking for Republicans to engage in attacks on Protestants in retaliation.

Hopefully this will not happen. The PSNI need to act though. The British government must also keep an eye on these developments as they are totally unacceptable. Yet again, unionists are nowhere and no condemnation is made.

Deaglan over at Res Publica published some interesting figures detailing sectarian Ballymena attacks from 1 June to 31 August:

Total attacks 45
Attempted murder 1
Petrol bombs 3
Disturbances 2
Intimidation 4
Criminal damage 24
Assault 8
Theft 2
Arson 1
29 victims Catholic
11 victims Protestant
5 victims undetermined

Source: PSNI

Says it all really.