The Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, has called on the people of the North not to be "dragged down by sectarian hooligans".
Dr Reid's call came after he met senior RUC officers to discuss the ongoing violence in Belfast. He said society owed officers in the line of fire a "real debt" and urged local representatives to do everything in their power to stop the violence.
"It is time to stop blaming each other and begin a real dialogue - for the sake of the people who are suffering from this nightly violence," he said.
Dr Reid echoed an earlier call by the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, who said lives would be lost unless community representatives began to exercise their influence. On Monday night loyalists reportedly fired up to 20 shots at police in east Belfast, as they intervened following petrol- and blastbomb attacks on homes in the Catholic Short Strand enclave.
The Sinn Fein MLA for North Belfast, Mr Gerry Kelly, called for steel gates in the area to be permanently closed to guarantee the safety of nationalist residents in the Duncairn Gardens area. Blaming the UDA for sparking the disturbances, he added: "I have never argued for any peace wall to be solidified but I am arguing that these gates need to be sealed up on a long-term basis."
In east Belfast, community workers from both sides met yesterday to consider proposals on how to defuse tensions.
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Down and Dromore, the Right Rev Harold Miller, called on people involved in the disturbances to "Stop - in the name of God". Belfast's tragedy was that there was an "ever-hardening distinction of orange and green areas".
There were two incendiary device attacks in Ballynahinch, Co Down. The bombs failed to explode.
An SDLP minister told an international Methodist conference yesterday that the decommissioning of all paramilitary weapons was vital for the survival of the Belfast Agreement.
The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Mr Sean Farren, said Northern Ireland faced a "stark choice" between the opportunities presented by the agreement and an "almost certain return to political instability and growing inter-communal tensions. Following last week's discussions we now have a very real and probably a last opportunity to ensure that all outstanding issues are satisfactorily resolved."