The Official IRA has denied weekend media reports that they were involved in the murder of West Belfast man Edward Gibson.
Mr Gibson was shot on Friday in an alleyway near Divis Flats and died later in hospital. Police are linking the killing to a fight that broke out in the nearby Albert Street not long before the shooting.
In a statement to the Andersonstown News the Official IRA said those behind the killing of 28-year-old Mr Gibson were “ex-members”.
“Due to recent events and ‘revelations’ in the Sunday press it has been necessary for this organisation to again reiterate and defend itself against undue and wholly unjustifiable allegations,” the statement reads.
“The recent death of a young man in the lower Falls area has been assigned to so-called ‘Super Sticks’, members of the Official Republican Movement, and the Official IRA.
“The Official IRA and the Official Republican Movement have had no involvement in this horrific event. The perpetrators of this crime were ex-members expelled from these organisations for nefarious activities unbecoming members of socialist republican ideology, and involved in activities more akin to financial self-advancement.
“The Official Republican Movement has firmly stated in the past that its name is not to be used by any group of individuals for their own activities, illegal or otherwise. Those involved in the recent murderous events are not members of, nor do they speak for, either organ-isation.”
And the statement adds: “The Official IRA, through the Official Republican Movement, again states that it is not involved in military activity, reasserts its stance on defence and retaliation and does not condone unnecessary violence. Furthermore, it will not countenance the name of the organisation being linked to ‘personal vendettas’.”
