The Shoukri brothers are a pair of Northern Irish

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

paramilitaries A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

. Andre Khalef Shoukri was born in 1977, the son of a

Coptic Christian Copts (; ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to Northeast Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are, like the broader Egyptian population, descended from the ancient Egyptians. Copts pre ...

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ian father and a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

mother. He was alleged to have taken over the north

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

(UDA) leadership. In July 2003 he received a two-year prison sentence for unlawful possession of a gun and received a nine-year sentence for various crimes in 2007. Ihab Shoukri, who was the older brother by three years, died in 2008.

Early years

The brothers were natives of the Westland estate, an

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...

area of

that forms an

interface area Interface area is the name given in Northern Ireland to areas where segregated nationalist and unionist residential areas meet. They have been defined as "the intersection of segregated and polarised working class residential zones, in areas w ...

with the

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

"Little America" area, the two places being divided by the Cavehill Road. The brothers were educated at

Lagan College Lagan College is a grant maintained integrated secondary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It holds a total of around 1475 students (as of 2024) It was formed in 1981 as the first integrated school in Northern Ireland and contains students o ...

, the first religiously integrated school in Northern Ireland, and at Boys' Model School, a secondary school in the north of the city.David Lister & Hugh Jordan, ''Mad Dog: The Rise and Fall of Johnny Adair and 'C' Company'', Mainstream, 2004, p. 309 Standing six feet tall and considered handsome on account of his exotic mixed-ethnic looks, Andre Shoukri was briefly on the books of a

Templepatrick Templepatrick (; ) is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast, and halfway between the towns of Ballyclare and Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim. It is also close to Belfa ...

modelling agency in his youth. Both brothers, whilst still teenagers, enrolled in K Company of the UDA North Belfast Brigade, the section that covered the Westland estate. They were soon nicknamed "the Turks" and " the Pakis" on account of their swarthy appearance.Henry McDonald & Jim Cusack, ''UDA: Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror'', Penguin Ireland, 2004, p. 334

Killing of Gareth Parker

In June 1996, Andre, then 19, was charged with manslaughter after he was involved in a fight outside a north Belfast pub, in which he assaulted a Catholic tennis player, Gareth Parker, a Belfast native who had been based in Dublin. Parker later died from his injuries. Andre was acquitted of manslaughter but received a two-year sentence, after pleading guilty to unlawful and malicious wounding. When interviewed in 2002 by ''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...

'', Ihab said he had no problem killing Catholics, continuing that it had no effect on him.

Brigadiers

Although members of the UDA's North Belfast Brigade, long commanded by the "Bacardi Brigadier" Jimbo Simpson, the Shoukris, like many of their contemporaries, looked instead towards

Johnny Adair John Adair (born 27 October 1963), better known as Johnny Adair or Mad Dog Adair, is a Northern Irish loyalist and the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). Th ...

, head of the neighbouring

UDA West Belfast Brigade The UDA West Belfast Brigade is the section of the Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), based in the western quarter of Belfast, in the Greater Shankill area. Initially a battalion, the West Belfast Brigade emer ...

, as a real leader and sought to emulate his militancy. Both were for a while imprisoned for extortion after demanding money with menace from a café owner and whilst in prison they became friendly with Adair, who was also incarcerated at the time. As the brothers' profile grew in the area, they soon assumed a leading role within their brigade and in 2002 led an internal coup to oust Simpson and install Andre Shoukri as North Belfast

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

. The coup was undertaken with guns borrowed from Adair and ensured that, at the age of 25, Shoukri was the youngest brigadier in UDA history. Under Shoukri's command, the North Belfast Brigade took a close involvement in clashes at sectarian interfaces during the middle of 2001 and the group was responsible for the killing of teenager Gavin Brett in

Glengormley Glengormley () is a townland (of 215 acres) and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Glengormley is within the urban area of Newtownabbey bordering Belfast, and is located in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It ...

. Brett, a Protestant, had been talking with friends outside

St Enda's GAC St Enda's GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Glengormley, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. They cater for gaelic football, hurling and camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is pla ...

when he was shot in a drive-by shooting, his assailants assuming he was a Catholic. Brett's murder was claimed by the "

Red Hand Defenders The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires.Frankie Curry and subsequently used by both the UDA and

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...

(UVF) as well as Curry's fellow dissidents. The Shoukris remained close to Adair and accompanied him and John White to the funeral of the

Loyalist Volunteer Force The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) was an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed by Billy Wright (loyalist), Billy Wright in 1996 when he and his unit split from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) a ...

(LVF) member Stephen Warnock in 2002, an act seen as provocative by other UDA leaders, both because they believed Adair was hoping to use the LVF to help him take full control of the UDA and also because Adair had been spreading a rumour that Jim Gray had killed Warnock rather than the

Red Hand Commando The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small secretive Ulster loyalism#Paramilitary and vigilante groups, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish r ...

, who had actually been responsible. Adair ultimately did seek to challenge the other UDA leaders although the Shoukris switched sides in late 2002 or early 2003 to support the mainstream position against Adair. In 2003, Andre Shoukri was given a two-year prison sentence for possessing a gun. Ihab Shoukri briefly served as Brigadier following his brother's arrest although his time in command proved very short-lived after he too was arrested, along with

Mo Courtney William Samuel "Mo" Courtney (born 8 July 1963) is a former Ulster Defence Association (UDA) activist. He was a leading figure in Johnny Adair's C Company, one of the most active sections of the UDA, before later falling out with Adair and servi ...

, for the murder of Alan McCullough, a former member of Johnny Adair's C Company who was killed by the UDA after returning from exile in

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

despite having received assurances of his safety from UDA leadership. By 2004 Andre Shoukri had returned as Brigadier, following a brief period of leadership by William Borland, and was one of the UDA leaders to meet with

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

Paul Murphy in that year.

Expulsion from UDA

The other five brigadiers in the UDA leadership decided to expel Andre Shoukri, his brother Ihab, and another associate in June 2006. The men's expulsion of several is believed to be a result of the organisation's stated commitment to a move away from criminal activity, and as paving the way towards decommissioning. Fears had been that there might have been another feud such as that which resulted from similar cases with both

and Jim Gray. Through pressure and negotiation with the

Ulster Political Research Group The Ulster Political Research Group is an advisory body connected to the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), providing advice to them on political matters. The group was permanently founded in January 2002, and is largely a successor to the Ulster ...

(UPRG), and following a meeting with political representatives from the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

's government and the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

government, things came to a tense conclusion when it was decided by the UDA that the Shoukri brothers and their family should leave Northern Ireland.

Andre Shoukri prison sentence

On 30 November 2007, Andre Shoukri was sentenced to nine years in prison at Belfast Crown Court. He was jailed on a total of eighteen charges including the blackmail and extortion of managers of a north Belfast bar beginning in June 2004. Other charges included intimidation and acquiring and using criminal property. He was sentenced along with four other men: William John Borland (sentenced to nine years on four counts of blackmail, one of intimidation and possession of a firearm); William John Harbinson (sentenced to seven years on three counts of blackmail, intimidation and possession of a firearm); Ian Peter Craig (who admitted to aiding and abetting a money transfer by deception and was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for three years) and Terry William Harbinson (sentenced to seven years on three counts of blackmail, intimidation and possession of a firearm). A large police presence of twenty officers was placed outside Court 12 where the case was being heard, however no disturbances occurred.

Ihab Shoukri's death

On the night of 22 November 2008 a body believed by the police to be that of Ihab Shoukri was found in

Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course, but it still forms part of the Belfast metropolitan area ...

. Police stated that the man's death was not suspicious and indicated belief that he died of a drugs overdose. On the day of Shoukri's funeral on 27 November 2008, there were several bomb alerts including one on Ballysillan Road where the church service was to take place. They were all found to be hoaxes.

Decommissioning

In February 2010 the

Independent International Commission on Decommissioning The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) was established to oversee the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons in Northern Ireland, as part of the peace process. Legislation and organisation An earlier international bo ...

announced that the 'Shoukri Paramilitary Element' had decommissioned 'some arms ammunition and explosive devices'. Arms and ammunition had also been decommissioned on two previous occasions. The group stated that the arms decommissioned were all it had under its control.

Post-prison

Andre Shoukri was released from prison on 28 May 2010. Following his release from prison he settled in

, an area of

covered by the

UDA South East Antrim Brigade The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and are heavily involved in the Illegal drug trade, drug trade. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in sou ...

although close to his old North Belfast stronghold. He appeared in north Belfast on a number of occasions soon after his release and was stopped by police, who feared the development of a power struggle within the local UDA. His public appearances included an event to commemorate dead loyalists in north Belfast held on

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces me ...

2011. In 2014, John Bunting, the UDA Brigadier in north Belfast, was charged with the attempted murder of Shoukri and his associate, John "Bonzer" Boreland.Murray, Alan. ''Big Mac sacks Burger King Brigadier'', ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its e ...

'', 7 September 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoukri, Andre Egyptian Copts People from Northern Ireland of Egyptian descent Living people Loyalists imprisoned during the Northern Ireland conflict Paramilitaries from Belfast Ulster Defence Association members Year of birth missing (living people)