McKee had been living in Derry for two weeks when rioting broke out in the Catholic Creggan estate after police raids of republican homes in the area. In January 2019 a New IRA bomb exploded outside the courthouse in Derry, and in March parcel bombs were sent to British army recruitment personnel and commercial targets in England and Scotland (all were made safe except one which partially exploded, but no one was hurt). The New IRA had been particularly active in the months preceding McKee’s death. The main targets of these groups are the police and security services, but during the same timeframe there were numerous casualties from punishment attacks against drug dealers and antisocial elements involved in petty criminality. Between April 2019 and March 2020 the police in Northern Ireland recorded 21 bombings, or attempted bombings, and 40 shootings 30 firearms were seized and 774 rounds of ammunition were found. Both groups continue to organise and recruit, and remain capable of launching attacks. The New IRA and the Continuity IRA see republicans from Sinn Féin and the Provisional Movement who were involved in the peace process as sellouts, and demand that armed struggle continue until Irish unity is achieved. Responsibility for McKee’s death was quickly laid at the door of the New IRA, one of the two armed republican groups still committed to the fight for a united Ireland.
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