Police have ruled out a racial motive for an arson attack which forced seven Malaysian people from their home today.
The victims were inside the property on Dunluce Avenue in the south of Belfast when a sofa was pushed against the front window and set alight.
All of the occupants got out uninjured, but the outside of the house and a parked car were damaged. Police were alerted to the scene just before 1am and initially said they were investigating a possible racial motive.
But a spokesman for the force later confirmed this was no longer a line of inquiry. Irrespective of the arsonists' reasoning, Carmel Hanna, an SDLP Assembly member for South Belfast, said they could have killed.
"The people who perpetrated this attack must be brought to justice and receive very severe jail sentences and I call on everyone with any information to provide it to the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland)."
Meanwhile, five people got out through an upstairs window after a house in Craigavon, Co Armagh was set on fire.
Petrol was poured through a letter box on Clonmeen Avenue and lit at around 4am today. None of the occupants was hurt, and police do not suspect either a racial or sectarian motive for the attack.
A number of petrol bombs were later discovered in the area.