The Red Hand Defenders has claimed responsibility for a shooting incident in which a Catholic taxi driver narrowly escaped.
The man was in his car at Parkmount Terrace on the Shore Road in north Belfast at 6 a.m. on Saturday when a shot was fired. The car was hit but he escaped unhurt.
Two youths were chased by police close to the scene but escaped. A handgun was recovered in a search of the area.
The Red Hand Defenders is a cover name used by the UDA and LVF, and there has been ongoing speculation this year on the state of the UDA ceasefire.
Mr Alban Maginness, an SDLP Assembly member for the area, said the attack again called into question the loyalist ceasefires and he urged an end to their campaigns.
A Sinn Fein councillor, Mr Danny Lavery, said it was "undoubtedly" the work of the UDA.
"While nationalists continue to undergo nightly attacks by this organisation, the British Secretary of State John Reid continues to maintain his silence on the state of the UDA's ceasefire," he said.
The attack was also condemned by north Belfast MP Mr Nigel Dodds, of the Democratic Unionists Party. "There can be no justification for this type of murderous attack on any individual."
An RUC spokesman said the force was concerned for the safety of taxi drivers operating in north Belfast. Detectives are treating the incident as attempted murder.
A house in Lisburn, Co Antrim, was attacked with a petrol bomb at 11 p.m. on Saturday. The kitchen of the house on Donard Drive, which was unoccupied at the time, was extensively damaged in the attack.