BELFAST, April 19 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland police have arrested a man in connection with the shooting of a prominent former member of a hardline republican splinter group.
Tommy Crossan, a leading opponent of a 1998 peace deal in the British province who had been a senior figure in the Continuity IRA, was shot on Friday afternoon in west Belfast and died at the scene.
Northern Ireland has been largely peaceful since the "Good Friday" agreement largely ended more than three decades of sectarian violence but there have been sporadic outbreaks of violence, particularly in the last 18 months.
More than 3,600 people died in sectarian strife between mainly Catholic Irish nationalists, seeking union with Ireland, and predominantly Protestant unionists who want to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Police said the 26-year-old was arrested in west Belfast. (Reporting by Sam Cage; Editing by Alison Williams)
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