Northern Ireland is "sleepwalking into an abyss", the acting head of the North’s Police warned today after a further night of sectarian rioting in east Belfast.
Acting Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn warned of "a fresh nightmare" that would lead to someone being killed unless steps were taken.
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Speaking at police headquarters in Belfast, Mr Cramphorn said: "We are only just at the beginning of the summer season and yet we have seen truly disturbing incidents of public disorder during the weekend.
"Everybody needs to understand that they are the losers in this. Not only are police and military colleagues suffering by acting as a buffer between the communities and thereby preserving life, but both communities are suffering. We have seen pensioners forced out of their homes on both sides, property set on fire and persons shot."
There have been claims by loyalists that the Provisional IRA started the trouble while on the nationalist side the UVF are being blamed.
Both organisations are supposed to be on ceasefire and while Mr Cramphorn said he was not going to get into the "blame game" he added that there was evidence of orchestration of the violence by both sides.
The police chief said the communities needed to realise the stark choices that had to be faced up to and issued an appeal to community leaders to act. "I would like political leaders, churchmen, anyone who exerts influence, to show real leadership to actively get into the community and make people understand there are just no winners in this situation, everyone is a loser," he said.
Arrests were made in the area last night, he said, and police will be studying video footage shot during the trouble in a bid to identify the troublemakers.
The police service was "playing a long game" on identifying ringleaders, he said, revealing that in the past fortnight 14 people had been charged with involvement in past trouble at north Belfast flash-points.
He pointed out to the two communities that while the trouble was going on his officers could not deal with the very issues both communities told them they wanted tackled - drugs, car crime and burglary.