The loyalist feud is in danger of spiralling out of control, the Assistant Chief Constable of the PSNI said today.
The latest violence between the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) erupted a week ago when LVF man Brian Stewart (34) was shot dead as he arrived for work in east Belfast.
"Clearly it would be fair to say there is an on-going feud between those two organisations," said Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland. "Since the murder of Mr Stewart this time last week, we've had six separate attacks, five bomb attacks and one shooting incident."
Mr McCausland described the feud as a "turf war", but refused to speculate on what was behind the latest flare-up between two groups.
In an effort to keep a lid on the situation, British troops have been deployed in loyalist areas.
"I have concerns this could spiral out of control, but at this moment in time we have got pro-active police patrolling on the streets supported by military colleagues," Mr McCausland said. "It's important everybody uses their influence to stop this."
PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde and Security Minister Ian Pearson are meeting today to discuss the situation.