Three men have been injured in loyalist "punishment" attacks, and loyalists have been blamed for two separate pipe-bomb attacks in Larne, Co Antrim, in which the brother of an SDLP Assembly member, Mr Danny O'Connor, was targeted along with a family of six. Mr O'Connor has blamed the UDA for attacks on Catholics in the Larne area. His own home was targeted on Saturday morning, when a petrol bomb was thrown in the driveway. Last night a group calling itself the Protestant Defenders claimed responsibility for the two pipe bomb attacks. Mr O'Connor has called on Mr Gary McMichael of the Ulster Democratic Party, the political wing of the UDA/UFF, to speak out against the attacks and confirm that the party is still committed to the peace process.
"I'm not going to stay quiet while these people terrorise the heart out of the Catholic community. They can no longer be called dissidents," he added.
Mr Kevin O' Connor (27) escaped injury when a pipe-bomb was put through the letter-box of his home and exploded in the hallway. Considerable damage was caused to his flat on Garron Walk in the Craighill area and he was treated for severe shock.
A Catholic couple and their four children escaped injury when a pipe-bomb hit the front wall of their house and exploded at around 1 a.m. yesterday in a house about a mile away. The family had lived at the house in Sallagh Park South in Larne for three months. They were petrol-bombed out of their last home in the Antiville estate a year ago. In recent weeks two petrol bombs and a sympathy card were left on their window-sill.
An RUC spokesman said the attacks could have resulted in serious injury or loss of life. Loyalists have also been blamed for three separate paramilitary-style attacks. A 28-year-old man was shot in both legs in Antrim on Sunday evening. He was hooded and forced into a car at Mallusk Gardens before being taken to Rough Lane, where he was shot. In east Belfast a 32-year-old man was beaten with hammers by three masked men who forced their way into a house on Emerald street.
A 24-year-old is receiving hospital treatment after he was beaten by masked men in the New Mossley area of Glengormley, Co Antrim . He is being treated for puncture wounds to his head, legs and arms after being attacked on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, British army bomb disposal experts have defused a pipe-bomb found near a Catholic church in Lisburn, Co Antrim.