The Loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) has said the death of any Orangeman at the hands of the security forces at Drumcree would be considered "an act of war". It did not outline what response it would make.
A statement issued by the "Mid-Ulster Brigade" of the UVF on Saturday night said it supported the Orangemen's demand to march along the mainly Catholic Garvaghy Road.
It is the most threatening statement by the UVF since it declared its ceasefire along with the other main loyalist paramilitary organisations in October 1994.
According to loyalist sources, the UVF has been reasserting itself in the north Armagh/east Tyrone area known as Mid-Ulster since the death of the maverick local loyalist leader, Billy Wright.