A 15-year-old boy is recovering after a loyalist "punishment" beating in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim.
Stuart Daley, from Glengormley, received arm, leg and other body injuries after he was set upon by six men and assaulted with a hammer on the Manse Road on Tuesday night.
He was found lying on a footpath by passers-by and taken to hospital for treatment.
The RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, was yesterday urged to set up a special task force to deal with paramilitary beatings.
Loyalists have carried out 88 "punishment" assaults and shootings so far this year. Republicans have been responsible for 57.
Mr Norman Boyd, of the Northern Ireland Unionist Party, accused the British government of failing to take action.
"The attack should fill all right-thinking people with horror and disgust", Mr Boyd said. "Mo Mowlam is making a mockery of democracy and the rule of law by turning a blind eye to daily barbarity from terrorist organisations."