THE UDA has apologised after loyalist paramilitaries badly injured a man at his home in north Belfast. As the man was being treated in hospital for head and body injuries the UDA issued an apology, saying the wrong man had been assaulted.
The attack occurred on Friday evening, when loyalist gangs broke into two houses in the Tynedale area of Belfast. In the first house they encountered Mr Ervine Fleming, who was holding his baby in his arms. They beat him with hammers and baseball bats in front of his wife and children. Before leaving they smashed furniture in the house.
In the second incident the gang's intended victim was not in the house. The intruders smashed furniture. They said they were from the Ulster Freedom Fighters, a cover name for the UDA.
The UDA subsequently admitted that the gangs had called to the wrong addresses and that Mr Fleming had been beaten by "mistake". The UDA claimed that the gangs were targeting alleged drug dealers.
Mr Fleming's family described those responsible as "sick, subhuman animals". He is being treated for serious head injuries and bruises to 98 per cent of his body, according to his family.
Meanwhile, police are trying to determine if a fire discovered early on Saturday at a derelict Church of Ireland property in College Square North, Belfast, was started deliberately.
