The North’s First Minister, David Trimble, has accused the Provisional IRA of "organising and directing widespread rioting in Belfast". He was speaking in London this afternoon following crisis talks at Downing Street with Tony Blair.
After spending about three quarters of an hour in discussions with Tony Blair, Mr Trimble told journalists that there was no doubt that recent violence in East Belfast had been organised by the Provisional IRA and that leading members had been personally involved in fomenting the trouble.
Mr Trimble said that the British Government must make it clear that there must not be just an absence of violence by the IRA, but also a clear move towards disbandment and disarmament.
The First Minister added the British Government should think very hard about its definition of the IRA ceasefire. He said the Prime Minister appreciated that this was a serious situation and that he was looking at what he could do to restore confidence.
According to reports rival gangs clashed tonight in a flashpoint area of south Belfast. About 200 people gathered around the Ormeau Bridge and pelted each other with stones.
There were reports of several cars being damaged. The Ormeau area has in recent years been the focus of a bitter dispute between Nationalists living in the lower end of the road and Protestant Orangemen over attempts to parade through the Catholic end of the area.
Loyalists tonight also took to the streets in the Newtownards Road where there have been bitter street clashes since Friday. But police said the protest was peaceful.
Earlier today, a stand-off began when protestors threw stones and bottles at Saint Mathew's Church on the Lower Newtownards Road, where a funeral was taking place at the time. Loyalist community workers claimed that a young woman was assaulted by a nationalist crowd on the same road.
A number of vehicles, including trucks and a bus, were hijacked by Loyalists who used them to block the Lower Newtownards Road and Templemore Avenue.
Four people were shot during the fourth consecutive night of sectarian violence in the Short Strand area on Monday evening, but the situation was reported to be quiet last night.
Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams and David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party held face-to-face talks this morning about the upsurge in sectarian violence.
