Council leaders in Belfast have met in an effort to prevent further sectarian rioting in the north of the city.
The Lord Mayor, Mr Jim Rodgers, called the talks in the wake of weeks of violence which have seen dozens of pipe-bomb attacks and hundreds of people injured. They were attended by representatives of all the main parties on the council, except the DUP.
Mr Rodgers said the violence was damaging Belfast's reputation and would put off investors and tourists. He called on all the parties to work together to try to resolve the continuing difficulties. Before the meeting, he said: "Many people have been on the streets causing mayhem for the RUC and the army and that is no way to move forward.
"I want to see more tourists, business visitors and investment come to Belfast, but if we are going to get that we must show that we can live in peace with one another," he said.
In a joint statement, all the parties present agreed a programme of action, including meetings with church and community groups as well as residents affected by violence.
Sinn Fein, which last week announced its own initiative aimed at preventing violence, welcomed the Lord Mayor's move. Mr Gerry Kelly, the party's MLA for North Belfast and Mr Alex Maskey blamed the Ulster Defence Association for orchestrating a "sectarian pogrom" against nationalists in his constituency.
Mr Kelly urged everyone with influence in the Protestant community to force the UDA into halting this campaign. "If you can affect 5 per cent of people and somebody else can affect 5 per cent, then cumulatively you can put pressure on the UDA to stop," he said.
He added: "It is our belief that not everybody, particularly some unionist politicians, have done all in their power to stop these attacks."
The DUP members of the council refused to attend the meeting, describing talks involving Sinn Fein as futile. They blamed republicans for instigating the majority of the violence.
In a statement, Cllr Nelson McCausland said DUP members had already appealed for restraint and had met the Northern Secretary and security minister to discuss the situation.
"However, a cross-party meeting with Sinn Fein would be a futile exercise. Sinn Fein/IRA are orchestrating a sectarian terror campaign against vulnerable Protestant communities in the north of the city," he said. The Ulster Unionist and Sinn Fein leaders met in Stormont yesterday to discuss the violence in north Belfast but neither Mr Adams nor Mr Trimble spoke about their meeting.
In the latest incidents, two houses in Newtownabbey were attacked with petrol bombs just after 11 p.m. on Wednesday.
The woman occupant of one of the houses on Old Throne Park escaped injury when a petrol bomb struck the rear wall of her house. A second device was thrown at an unoccupied neighbouring house.
Also in north Belfast, a British army patrol prevented an arson attack from causing serious damage to a Catholic church. Just after 11 p.m. on Wednesday, arsonists forced their way into Holy Cross chapel on the Crumlin Road and poured flammable liquid into the laundry room. The soldiers extinguished the fire.
A 17-year-old youth was shot in the ankles in a paramilitary-style attack in Killough, Co Down, yesterday. The attack happened at around 8 p.m. at Fisherman's Row when two people on a motorcycle knocked the youth to the ground and then shot him.