Sectarian graffiti daubed on Catholic church in Northern Ireland

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/30/sectarian-graffiti-catholic-church-northern-ireland

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Sectarian graffiti described as "a disgusting and appalling act of vandalism" has been daubed on the wall of a Catholic church in Northern Ireland.

Twenty hours after a series of coordinated racist attacks directed at immigrants in Belfast, a church in County Tyrone has become the latest target of rising hate crime in the region.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said it was treating the slogans painted outside St Patrick's Catholic church in Dungannon as a hate crime.

SDLP local councillor Denise Mullen said: "Whoever is responsible for this should be ashamed. To carry out a thuggish act like this on a place of worship is cowardly and, really, it is an attack on the community.

"Whoever is responsible for this vandalism does not represent the good people of Dungannon, and I would urge anyone with information about the incident to contact police."

The graffiti included the letters UVF – Ulster Volunteer Force – which was scrawled in luminous green on the side of the church.

In Belfast the PSNI have confirmed that eight separate attacks on the homes and cars of immigrant families on Monday night in loyalist areas in the east of the city were orchestrated.

PSNI Supt Mark McEwan said: "A group of between 10 to 15 people were involved, some of them masked, and there was a level of orchestration."

One of the victims, who had "Romanians out" painted on her home in Bloomfield Avenue, is actually Slovakian and said she would not be forced out.

Rosie Lakatosova said: "Just yesterday I walked around the area and there was nothing. I am scared and frightened and I don't know why they would do this. This is a very good street."