A Catholic priest has denounced an apparent punishment attack on two teenagers in north Belfast over Easter, describing it as "child abuse".
Father Aidan Troy from the Holy Cross Church in Ardoyne in north Belfast condemned the attack, which occurred last Thursday by men claiming to represent the INLA.
A 14-year-old boy and his 15-year-old friend were taken from their homes, chained to a lamppost at the waist and ankles, made to remove their T-shirts, and had tar, paint and oil poured over them.
Father Troy, who came to international prominence as the chairman of the board of governors of the Holy Cross Primary School, claimed the punishment attack marked a low point for the local community.
"I am not saying that these boys were angels," he said. "But I would still come out and ask any group of any hue how can they take children unilaterally from their parents and punish them like this. "You cannot do that. "You cannot take children out and pour tar over them and then send them back.
"The hospital said we cannot get rid of all of this tar, to me that is absolutely horrendous," he added.
A spokesman for the political wing of the INLA, however, insisted republicans had to protect working class communities.
Mr Terry Harkin of the Irish Republican Socialist Party argued: "Republicans, and in particular socialist republicans, have an onus to protect the working class community in their areas."
Mr Harkin claimed the teenagers had been treated "more empathetically" by the INLA than any other republican organisation.
PA