Paramilitary gang’s attack on man (23) condemned

A “VICIOUS” paramilitary-style attack that took place on a busy walking and cycling route in east Belfast has been condemned.

A 23-year-old man was treated in hospital after he was approached by a gang of up to seven armed with knuckledusters, hammers and bats on the Comber Greenway near Knock at around 6.30pm yesterday.

The victim is not believed to have sustained life-threatening injuries.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long, an MLA for the area, branded the “brutal beating” as a brazen attack on the entire community and urged witnesses to contact the police.

“This was a vicious paramilitary-style attack carried out by those who are determined to maintain their illegal control over communities,” she said.

UUP councillor Jim Rodgers also condemned the “savage attack”, which he described as inexcusable. “Nobody has the right to take the law into their own hands and nobody supports this activity,” he said.