The level of the terrorist threat in Northern Ireland has been raised from "
significant
" to "
serious
" by the security services, the British government announced on Tuesday March 28, shortly before an expected visit by American President Joe Biden for the 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement.
Announcing this increase, decided by MI5, the British government underlines "
the increase in the level of terrorist activity
", referring to the recent attempted murder of a police officer.
This level means that an attack is considered "
highly probable
", said in a press release the British Minister in charge of Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, stressing that the public must remain "
vigilant
" without being worried. "
alarm
".
"
Over the past 25 years, Northern Ireland has transformed into a peaceful society
", "
however, a small number of people remain determined to harm our people through acts of politically motivated violence
", according to the text.
Good Friday Agreement
This refers to the attempted murder of police officer John Caldwell, who was shot several times on February 22 by two men while coaching children in football in the town of Omagh (center ).
This attack, unanimously condemned by the political leaders of the British province, occurred shortly before the 25th anniversary of the peace agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, after three decades of deadly conflict which left 3,500 dead.
Police suspect the New IRA, a dissident Republican group, which has admitted responsibility for two attacks in recent years.
In April 2021, a bomb was planted under a policewoman's car in front of her home.
The province is also at a delicate political moment: if London and Brussels have finally reached an agreement on the post-Brexit provisions in the province, the local political institutions are still paralyzed because of the boycott of the unionists of the DUP, viscerally attached to the membership of the British province in the United Kingdom.