A vigil was held last night in north Belfast in memory of the Catholic man killed by the UDA. Mr Gerard Lawlor (19), a father of one, was shot dead as he walked home from a pub on the Antrim Road.
The shooting happened early on Monday, close to the victim's home on the Whitewell Road. The candlelit vigil was led by his parish priest, Father Dan Whyte. Last July Father Whyte officiated at a similar service for a Protestant man, Mr Gavin Brett, who was shot dead by the UDA in north Belfast. He was mistaken for a Catholic.
Meanwhile, a man who was confronted by loyalist gunmen the same night Mr Lawlor was killed has spoken of his fears that he would be shot dead. Mr Ryan Corbett (19) was standing outside the Henry Joy McCracken pub on the Oldpark Road when two loyalists approached.
"I was outside the pub on the phone and I saw two guys pulling up on a motorbike," he said. "One of them pulled a gun out. I had pound coins in my hand and I threw them at him and hit him. He turned the other way. I had run by that time.
"He stalled for two seconds because the gun jammed. I was shaking and I ran up the road and told the people in the bar what had happened." Mr Corbett is the brother of Commonwealth gold medal boxer, Mr Darren Corbett.
He said he knew Mr Lawlor. Both played Gaelic football for different teams. "We were good friends through Gaelic," said Mr Corbett. "If they had got me, they would not have killed him. I just want this shooting to stop."
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions condemned the rise in sectarian violence. ICTU's Northern Ireland Committee is seeking urgent meetings with community leaders, politicians, paramilitary groups and the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid.
The Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast, Mr Alex Maskey, is meeting political, civic and religious leaders today to discuss the problem of sectarian violence in the city. He is planning a lunchtime vigil against sectarianism at Belfast City Hall on Friday.
Speaking yesterday after he met the North's Security Minister, Ms Jane Kennedy, Mr Maskey said: "There can be no business more pressing at this time than that of restoring calm to the city. I am calling on all political leaders to use their influence to bring the current sectarian onslaught to an end."
Meanwhile, three men were arrested and a loaded handgun recovered early yesterday in the Oldpark area of north Belfast. The men were in a car stopped by police at Westland Way.