Analysis: Two men have been killed in the loyalist feud, and there are growing fears of further deaths, reports Suzanne Breen, Senior Northern Correspondent
The trademark clothing of the loyalist paramilitary was easily spotted. Roy Green's pale blue tracksuit-bottoms and trainers were visible under the white sheet placed over his body.
He lay on the rain-soaked street, just a few yards from the Kimberley Bar, a well-known loyalist meeting place on Belfast's Upper Ormeau Road. Mr Green had been drinking there minutes before he met his death on Thursday night.
He was shot as he left the bar with another man, who escaped uninjured. It was the second killing in the internal UDA feud which began last autumn between the mainstream organisation and its lower Shankill C Company led by Johnny Adair.
In September, Adair and his close associate, Mr John White, were expelled by the leadership in a bitter power struggle which followed long-standing tensions. The UDA called on its members to distance themselves from the two men.
However, the Shankill has remained loyal to Adair, who has pockets of support in other parts Belfast. Threats have been made against his life, and he moves around his home territory amid very tight security.
Security and loyalist sources have said both sides are involved in drugs, racketeering and extortion. Adair had taken militant stances on a range of issues and was said to be "out of control" by the leadership. His supporters accuse the mainstream UDA of "demonising" him and claim it has "gone soft".
In the first three months of the feud, there were dozens of shootings and bombings. The homes of Mr White and of the UDA's South Antrim commander, Mr John Gregg, who is strongly anti-Adair, were attacked.
Shots were fired into the home of Mr Tommy Kirkham, a spokesman for the Ulster Political Research Group which provides political analysis to the UDA.
The first murder in the feud happened on St Stephen's Day. A hooded gunman entered a house party in Manor Street in north Belfast and shot dead Mr Jonathan Stewart (22), who was standing in the kitchen.
Mr Stewart's family insists he had no paramilitary links, but he was the nephew of a prominent loyalist. Adair's associates have been blamed for the murder. Mr Green's killing was the second fatality. A former prisoner, he lived in the Donegall Road area of south Belfast, about two miles from where he was shot.
He was released from jail last year after serving a sentence for drugs. Although not from the Shankill, he associated with members of Adair's C Company. The mainstream UDA was responsible for his murder.
Many loyalists were yesterday shocked that Mr Green, who was not directly involved in the feud, had been targeted.
Mr White said Mr Green had been killed for speaking out against the UDA leadership. "He was very critical of the way Johnny and myself had been treated. He was critical of the UDA leadership and the way they are leading the organisation.
"My understanding is that he was a very forthright and frank person, and I think that is why he ended up dead," Mr White said.
While the feud has had a debilitating effect in the loyalist community, there has been a very different response in working-class nationalist areas. The reaction there has been similar to that in loyalist districts during INLA feuds.
All attempts at mediation from church and political figures have so far failed. Before Christmas, the Presbyterian minister, the Rev Roy Magee, met loyalist representatives in an attempt to establish talks between the two sides.
He called on both factions to draw back from violence. However, sources close to the UDA leadership say the feud will not end until C Company is effectively wiped out. The position of Adair's supporters also appears to be hardening.
Mr White yesterday demanded that the UDA leadership stand down and said it was disgraceful that an organisation set up to defend Protestants ended up shooting members of its own community.