The former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has called on those who attacked his home to meet him and explain their actions.
Explosive devices were thrown at the homes of Adams and another prominent republican figure, Bobby Storey, on Friday night.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed it was dealing with two incidents at two addresses in west Belfast, though officers declined to give any further details.
At a press conference on Saturday, Adams said: “I’d like them or their representatives to come and meet me. I’d like them to sit down and explain to me what this is about.
“I’d like those who are involved in exploiting children in Derry to do the same thing, or those who are poisoning the atmosphere in east Belfast and causing havoc to do the same thing.”
He said he could be contacted through any Sinn Féin office, adding: “So that’s my direct appeal to them … Give us the rationale for this action.”
The attacks on the homes of Adams and Storey, who has served as Sinn Féin’s northern chairman, were condemned as “reprehensible and cowardly” by Gerry Kelly, the party’s policing and justice spokesman, who added that grandchildren were in the driveway of Adams’s home minutes before the attack.
“I would appeal for calm. These attacks are the desperate acts of increasingly desperate and irrelevant groups,” he said in a statement.
Adams said no one was hurt in the incident but Sinn Féin said one of the devices damaged a car.
All well here. No one hurt. Thanks 4 all the texts & phone calls. Thanks 2 all the great neighbours, the Neighbourhood Watch & Sinn Féin reps who were here very quickly.
— Gerry Adams (@GerryAdamsSF) July 14, 2018
The Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, tweeted: “I unequivocally condemn the violence in Derry and Belfast last night. We will not allow a small minority intent on violence to drag Northern Ireland back to the past. We stand with the decent law-abiding people from all communities in the North.”
The attacks came on the same day the PSNI’s chief constable, George Hamilton, condemned violence in Derry on Thursday night, during which he said more than 70 petrol bombs and two improvised explosive devices were thrown at officers.
“This was the sixth consecutive night of reckless violence, violence that I am confident is being orchestrated by dissident republicans, with the New IRA being the primary grouping responsible.”
Police said it was “nothing short of a miracle” that no one had been injured or killed.
Hamilton said deadly weaponry, including guns, had been brought on to the streets and, accordingly, the force was treating the Derry attacks as “attempts to murder police officers, ordinary men and women who are simply doing their jobs trying to protect the community and keep people safe”.
He said it was heartening to see political and religious leaders condemning the violence. “People in this great city need to use whatever influence they can to bring this reckless disorder to an end and I am calling on everyone within the community and all political parties to use any influence they have to make it stop immediately before someone is killed.”
There was no indication on Friday night of who carried out the Belfast attacks and no suggestion they were linked to the Derry violence.
The PSNI said detectives were investigating the explosions.
“Officers have seized remnants of large industrial, firework-type devices, capable of causing serious damage or injury, at both locations. There were no reports of any injuries. However, a parked car was damaged at one of the houses.”
The leader of the Alliance party, Naomi Long, said the attacks “must be condemned without equivocation”.
“This week we have seen those who remain wedded to violence bring chaos and fear on to our streets, in scenes which we had all hoped we would never witness again,” she said.
“These latest attacks on the homes of Gerry Adams and Bobby Storey are a deliberate and calculated attempt to cause fear and raise tensions in our community.
“We have all worked too hard and come too far to see the peace we have enjoyed put at risk by those who offer nothing to this society but destruction.”
Press Association contributed to this report
