LISBURN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Seven Irish nationalists have been charged in NorthernIreland of involvement in militant activity, three under a rarelyused law against "directing terrorism," in one of the highestprofile roundups of its kind in the province in recent years. Five were charged on Friday and two more on Saturday of offencesincluding conspiracy to murder and cause explosions and thepreparation of terrorist acts, police said, following a jointoperation with security services. Three men appeared in a court in Lisburn near Belfast on Saturday,flanked by a dozen armed police in riot gear, to hear the charges. Two were brothers of prominent Lurgan republican Colin Duffy whowas acquitted earlier this year of an attack by militant group theReal IRA on the army's Massereene Barracks in Antrim three yearsago. The third man was Duffy's cousin. The Real IRA is one of several groups opposed to the 1998 peacedeal that largely ended three decades of tit-for-tat killingsbetween mainly Catholic Irish nationalists opposed to British ruleof Northern Ireland, and predominantly Protestant unionists whowanted it to continue. Sporadic gun and bomb attacks by dissident Irish nationalist groupsaimed mainly at security forces have intensified in the past coupleof years. In April, police found a "significant" bomb near the mainDublin-to-Belfast motorway, and a bomb was found under the car of apoliceman's parents, the latest in a spate of attempted attacks onCatholic officers and their families. The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the murder of two soldiersin a gun attack on Massereene Barracks three years ago during oneof the worst weeks of violence in recent years. In January, 46-year-old Brian Shivers was jailed for a minimum of25 years for the murders but Colin Duffy, 44, walked free. His brother Paul Duffy, 47, was one of the men charged on Saturdaywith "directing terrorism," a charge often leveled against groupssuspected of involvement in international terrorism, but rarelyused in Northern Ireland. Two of four suspects arrested in Tyrone and Londonderry lastweekend have also been charged with directing terrorism. All fourare due in court later on Saturday. Colin Duffy was in court on Saturday with several dozen familymembers and supporters. A lawyer representing the three men saidtheir family was being persecuted by the police. (Reporting by Ian Graham; Editing by Conor Humphries and Sophie Hares). We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Brake Disc Replacement , Industrial Timing Belts for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Car Timing Belts.
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