Loyalists have carried out three sectarian attacks in the North.
A 27-year-old Catholic man was badly injured when he was attacked by a crowd of loyalists in Lurgan, Co Armagh early yesterday. He was set upon by about 15 men in Market Street and escaped only after another group of men chased off his attackers. He suffered a broken leg, cuts and bruises.
A 24-year-old Catholic man was also attacked early yesterday in Lurgan. He was beaten up by a loyalist bandsman as he walked home towards the nationalist Taghevan estate. He was hit in the face with a bottle. He was treated in hospital for bruising.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old was attacked by a group of loyalists in north Belfast on Sunday night. He was walking home with his girlfriend when he was set upon at the corner of Lansdowne Road and Antrim Road. It is believed 19 men wearing Glasgow Rangers football shirts were involved. The youth's girlfriend said: "A group of them jumped Mark. One had a metal bar and they threw him to the ground and started to kick his head."
The victim was beaten unconscious. He was treated in hospital for a broken arm. The assailants also attacked his girlfriend but she was not seriously injured.