A 17-year-old man is recovering in hospital after a "punishment" shooting in a nationalist area of Belfast. The victim was shot in the feet in the Short Strand area in the east of the city.
He was abducted on Thursday night at Beechfield Street and driven to Upper Stanfield Street where the shooting took place. The Provisional IRA is understood to have been responsible.
There has been an upsurge in beatings and shootings in nationalist areas of the North in recent days. Provisional IRA "punishment" shootings appeared to have stopped last November in the latter stages of the Mitchell review and the establishment of the executive.
However, eight days ago, a 30year-old man became the first recent victim of such an attack in a republican area. He was discovered with gunshot wounds to the legs in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast.
The next day, a 16-year-old boy was treated in hospital for severe bruising to the arms and legs after a beating in the same area. On Sunday, a 20-year-old man was shot in the left leg in a nationalist area of Strabane, Co Tyrone.
The following day, a 20-year-old man was dragged from his car at gunpoint in the nationalist Creggan area of Derry and beaten with pick-axe handles.
Loyalist "punishment" attacks continued even when the Provisional IRA had halted their shootings and beatings. On Tuesday, a 26-year-old man was shot in both legs in the loyalist Ballysillan area of north Belfast.
Sinn Fein has said it is "opposed" to "punishment" attacks. However, Sinn Fein MLA, Mr Alex Maskey, said earlier in the week that there would "always be bad characters who find themselves outside the community".
Mr Vincent McKenna of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Bureau has claimed that the Provisional IRA is using the attacks to "blood new recruits".