Ex-Policeman Killed in N. Ireland

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Masked gunmen shot and killed a former policeman outside a supermarket late Friday, the most serious violent incident to strike Northern Ireland as negotiators seek a solution to the British province’s political divisions.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting of Cyril Stewart, 52, a Protestant, in Armagh, 40 miles southwest of Belfast, the provincial capital. The Irish Republican Army and other anti-British paramilitary groups in the past have targeted current and former members of Northern Ireland’s police and army.

While the IRA is supposed to be observing an 8-month-old truce as the prerequisite for its allied Sinn Fein party to participate in peace talks, police say IRA members disillusioned with the negotiations have broken away to continue attacks.

Britain’s Northern Ireland Secretary Marjorie “Mo” Mowlam appealed to anyone with information to go to the police. The killers “must be caught,” she said.

A leading moderate Roman Catholic politician also denounced Stewart’s killing, saying it was the work of people determined to prevent a peace settlement.

“They are imposing their will on an entire community, but they cannot be allowed to succeed,” said Seamus Mallon, deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party.