Security forces in the North are believed to be concerned that a loyalist feud, involving elements of the UVF and LVF, could lead to further bloodshed as tensions rise between the rival paramilitary groupings. Within the last week there has been a series of shootings in Belfast, which the security forces believe are linked to tensions between loyalist factions.
Last Wednesday, gunmen tried to shoot a workman in the Oldpark area. The intended victim, who said he was a supporter of murdered LVF leader Billy Wright, escaped when the gunman's weapon jammed after firing two shots.
On Friday, Mr Martin Taylor, a father of two, was shot dead as he was working outside a house in the loyalist Ballysillan area. The Progressive Unionist Party MLA for North Belfast, Mr Billy Hutchinson, "guaranteed" the UVF had not been involved in the shooting.
The latest incident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on Sunday when a number of men fired over 30 shots at a house in Ballygowan, Co Down. The occupants, a husband and wife and their young son, were not injured.
The PUP leader, Mr David Ervine, claimed the LVF was behind the attack. However, the security forces are working on the theory the attack was a UVF reprisal for the murder of Mr Taylor.
Meanwhile, several prominent loyalists in the mid-Ulster area have increased their personal security.
Tensions between the UVF and LVF in the area have remained high following the murders of Portadown businessman Mr Richard Jameson and teenagers Andrew Robb and David McIlwane earlier this year.
A loyalist source said yesterday: "No one is leaving anything to chance. There is real fear this feud could escalate within days." There was also concern among Portadown's nationalist community that loyalist violence could be directed against them in the run-up to the Drumcree parade on July 9th.
"In the past, when loyalist feuds erupted, they eventually got tired of killing each other and turned their guns on Catholics," said a Garvaghy Road resident. "There is a genuine fear that could well happen here in Portadown."