Loyalist paramilitaries have been blamed for Wednesday night's riots in north Belfast which saw security forces come under gun and bomb attack from a 400-strong loyalist crowd.
There were more disturbances yesterday afternoon when about 150 nationalists and 100 loyalists clashed in the Ardoyne area shortly before 2 p.m. Police were investigating unconfirmed reports of gunfire in the Hesketh Road area. At about 6 p.m. there were reports of disturbances in the Whitewell area.
Thirteen police officers were injured on Wednesday night when rioting hit the Limestone Road/North Queen Street area. According to police, there were five shooting incidents in which up to 25 shots were fired from handguns at the security forces. Thirty petrol bombs and 24 pipe and blast bombs were also thrown. Police fired 15 plastic rounds.
The PSNI assistant chief constable, Mr Alan McQuillan, said he had no doubt the Ulster Defence Association had orchestrated the disturbances. Many rioters had been bussed in from outside the area.
"Many had been brought in from outside and the difficulty is that the godfathers sit in the pubs and in their houses organising this and don't go out an do the dirty work themselves.
"Moderate community leaders are being threatened by the UDA, who are telling them to stay out of it. The UDA wants to get at their Catholic neighbours and we are stopping them."
Protestant community workers appeared to concur with Mr McQuillan, saying "loyalist dissidents" had entered the Tiger's Bay area to stir up trouble. However, they have also alleged that the police's "heavy-handedness" has angered loyalists to an extent where voices of moderation no longer had any influence.
Both republicans and loyalists have produced amateur video footage which appears to show heavy-handed police tactics against rioters. The vice-chairman of the Policing Board, Mr Denis Bradley, said given that some officers were put in an almost impossible situation, it was not surprising that they might go "overboard". The board would investigate complaints of ill-treatment made by community workers.
The DUP MP for the area, Mr Nigel Dodds, yesterday accused the British government of a "lack of urgency" in dealing with the disturbances.
He said he was to meet the Security Minister, Ms Jane Kennedy, to call for the installation of close circuit television cameras, such as those already in operation in the Ardoyne area on the Limestone Road.
Responding to Mr Dodds's criticism, a Northern Ireland Office minister, Mr Des Browne, said the British government had "ensured a huge commitment of police and troops in the area to hold the line at the interface". Condemning the riots, the said a security response could only be part of the answer.
"Everyone of influence must do all they can to re-establish genuine dialogue and give hope for the future of north Belfast," he added.
Sinn Féin yesterday criticised what it called "PSNI attempts to portray themselves as piggies in the middle", saying so far no arrests had been made in loyalist areas.
The young age of many of the rioters, a large number of them barely in their teens, poses an additional problem for the security forces. During a riot sparked by nationalists on Easter Monday, a toddler, who could hardly hold the stick he was carrying, was led by his mother to a police land rover so he could hit it.
• Police officers are caught between rioters on both sides of the community in north Belfast, the acting Chief Constable told the Policing Board yesterday. Mr Colin Cramphorn, who took over from Sir Ronnie Flanagan on Monday, was speaking at a public session of the board. He told the 19-member body: "All the police can try to do is to provide the space for the communities to find a way to move forward together." He told Mr Ian Paisley jnr that the police would welcome an extension of CCTV use. The SDLP's Mr Eddie McGrady raised the Castlereagh break-in. Mr Cramphorn said comment was not appropriate as it could prejudice the investigation.