The bus-drivers' union in Belfast has taken the unprecedented step of offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of loyalists who petrol-bombed a bus, causing the driver serious injuries.
The incident happened on the Crumlin Road on Tuesday night when several masked and armed men stopped the vehicle and boarded it as it headed for the city centre. They ordered the driver to leave as they sprinkled petrol on the floor but then threw in a petrol bomb before he had time to escape.
The driver was engulfed in flames, and local people had to douse him with water. He is being treated in the Royal Victoria Hospital for severe burns to his face, chest, hands and legs. His condition is described as stable. It is not known whether he will be scarred. The driver, who is in his 30s, was recently married. He does not want to be named.
The incident was part of serious rioting in north and west Belfast which followed the arrest of a man for questioning over a loyalist murder. The man was arrested in connection with the death of Mr Glen Greer (28), who was blown up in a car booby-trap bomb in Bangor, Co Down, last month. The RUC believes the UDA was responsible.
Loyalist sources said that the situation was further aggravated by a police raid on a house in the lower Shankill during which a seven-month pregnant woman was allegedly batoned by RUC officers and her friend badly beaten.
Mr John White of the Ulster Democratic Party, the UDA's political wing, accused the RUC of continuing to harass loyalists while the British government "pandered to republicans". Mr Frank McCoubrey of the UDP said there was no justification for the attack on the bus-driver but he also wanted to condemn "RUC brutality" against women on the Shankill.
The UDP and the RUC will hold weekly meetings in future in an attempt to prevent any recurrence of violence.
The Alliance party condemned the rioting. A spokesman, Mr Stephen Farry, said: "Nothing can ever justify this behaviour. There seems to be a growing culture of politics being played out on the streets rather than using legitimate channels of protest. This is a profoundly worrying development."
The North's Security Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, described the attack on the bus-driver as "cruel and spiteful" and said it would serve no purpose other than to cause misery to the local community. Bus-drivers in Belfast yesterday held a lightning strike at midday in protest at the incident. Hundreds of drivers congregated outside the main bus depot in Glengall Street to voice their anger and demand better security.
A union official, Mr Craig Potts, said drivers were tired of risking their lives. "Every night of the week a driver is assaulted, bricks are thrown through the windows. This has been going on for 30 years; you would think we would have it sorted by now."
Bus services returned to normal elsewhere in Belfast last night but remained suspended in the Shankill and Crumlin Road areas.