Report coming in says armed men have reportedly set a bus they hijacked on fire in N.Ireland. The incident happened on Monday morning in Abbot Drive area in a pro-British unionist town.

Northern Irish police said the bus was set alight by two masked and armed men who local media said referenced anger over post-Brexit trade barriers as they ordered the driver off the vehicle.

Police said the incident took place around 0630 GMT and that the driver managed to get off the bus unharmed. The two men poured fuel over the vehicle before setting it on fire.

Belfast Telegraph crime correspondent; Allison Morris, said the attackers referenced the Northern Ireland protocol that has introduced trade barriers with the rest of the United Kingdom.

BBC Northern Ireland journalist Stephen Nolan; quoted a pro-British loyalist source as saying the hijacking was carried out to coincide with an end-October deadline suggested by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for changes to be made to the protocol.

Many pro-British unionists say the protocol undermines peace in Northern Ireland by dividing them from the rest of the UK with an effective border in the Irish Sea. Talks are underway between the European Union and Britain to try to smooth out the trade barriers.

The discontent helped fuel the worst violence in the region for years in March and April – including the hijacking and torching of a bus – though there had been little such turmoil since.

A spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), said: “At approximately 6.30 am, two masked and armed men boarded the bus and poured fuel over the vehicle before setting it alight.

“The driver managed to get off the bus unharmed but has been left badly shaken by the incident.

“Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or have any information in relation to it is asked to contact police on 101 quoting reference 444 of 01/11/21.”