Rival loyalists have been blamed for a gun attack on a Glasgow Rangers' supporters bar in Belfast last night. A group of men standing outside the club in Sandy Row escaped unhurt when a gunman opened up from a passing car shortly after 8 p.m.
The shooting is believed to be linked to tensions between the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force in west and south Belfast.
Mr David Adams of the Ulster Democratic Party, the UDA's political wing said: "It was a miracle nobody was killed."
The bar was packed at the time. Up to five men were standing outside the open doors at the junction of Sandy Row and Donegall Road when several shots were fired by a gunman in the passenger seat of a car. At one stage he got out and chased one of the men, but returned to the car which raced off. RUC forensic experts later examined a white Sierra found abandoned in the neighbouring loyalist Village area.
There has been a series of clashes between rival loyalists, but last night's shooting marked an escalation in the feuding.
Mr Adams added: "It was an indiscriminate attack and a miracle nobody was killed or injured. Nobody should jump to conclusions about who carried out this shooting, but republicans were not involved."
Last night some of the men fired on earlier were helping the RUC with their inquiries.