The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, has said he is pleased at the RUC's handling of the loyalist feud but he has urged the force to do more to tackle "paramilitary gangsterism".
Mr Trimble and the Ulster Unionist security spokesman, Mr Ken Maginnis, met senior RUC officers in Belfast yesterday to discuss the situation. Both men refused to be drawn on reports that they have been attempting to broker negotiations between the UDA and UVF and their respective political wings, the Ulster Democratic Party and the Progressive Unionist Party.
Mr Maginnis said: "Meetings are going on at all sorts of levels and involving all sorts of people who want to bring an end to the confrontation." The presence of troops in Carrickfergus, where 32 homes were attacked on Wednesday, appeared to have calmed the situation and there were no reports of violence yesterday.
A loyalist band parade due to be held in the town tonight has been cancelled.
Mr Trimble welcomed the return of British soldiers to Carrickfergus, Coleraine and Belfast. The move was designed to reassure the public, prevent further violence, and allow the RUC to continue its investigations, he said. He was pleased that several people were being questioned by detectives about recent violence but he said the RUC must launch an offensive against the "mafia subculture" in the North.
Three people have been killed since the feud began a fortnight ago and 11-year-old Charlene Daly is recovering in hospital after being seriously injured in a UVF gun attack on her home in Coleraine earlier this week.
The UK Unionist leader, Mr Robert McCartney, accused the UUP of hypocrisy in its attitude to the loyalist feud. The party had supported the early release of paramilitary prisoners - "the people who are presently terrorising the community".
Mr McCartney also said the UUP could not talk about tackling the "godfathers of violence" when it had entered government with Sinn Fein at Stormont and allowed that party to hold the education ministry.
The Alliance Party also met senior RUC officers to discuss the feud yesterday. The party's chief whip, Mr David Ford, said while he welcomed the rearrest and return to jail of Shankill UDA commander Johnny Adair, the RUC had to take action against others. Alliance called for "adequate police and army resources" across the North.
Sinn Fein Assembly member Mr Alex Maskey said the deployment of British troops in loyalist areas showed the RUC was unwilling to police the districts. "If any of these incidents were taking place in nationalist areas, the RUC would only be too willing to become involved. The RUC is not an acceptable policing service. Events of recent weeks have once again underlined this.
"It is now up to the British government to create the sort of new beginning to policing envisaged under the Good Friday agreement. This will not be done by remilitarising," Mr Maskey said.