A BELFAST mother has called on the IRA to lift a death threat against her son. Mr Paul Cooke (21) has fled his home in Cooke Street in the Lower Ormeau after graffiti-painted by Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD), a cover name for the IRA appeared locally claiming he was a drug dealer.
His family has denied the claims. His mother, Ms Jean Kennedy, accused the IRA of telling "absolute lies".
Mr Cooke was badly wounded in a UDA attack on Sean Graham's betting office in 1992.
Meanwhile, the RUC is investigating three so-called punishment attacks. On Tuesday afternoon, in an attack by three men, a 17-year-old youth was beaten on the arms and legs with spiked bats. The incident happened in a house on Raleigh Street in north Belfast. That night, a 21-year-old man was beaten by six masked men after being abducted from a flat in the New Lodge area.
On Monday, a 41-year-old man was beaten up at his homed in Sperrin Park, Derry, by several masked men.