An 82-year-old Catholic woman remained in critical condition in hospital last night following an attack in which her home and its entire contents were destroyed.
Mrs Mary Millar has lived at Bann Drive, in the loyalist Irish Street estate in the Waterside area of Derry, for over half a century. She and her daughter Hilary were critically injured when petrol was poured through their letterbox and then set alight in the early hours of Saturday.
Mrs Millar's son Roy was released from hospital yesterday. Eleven years ago he suffered serious head injuries in a sectarian attack.
Their Protestant neighbours said they were praying that Mrs Millar and her daughter would make a full recovery and that they would return to their home.
"They are the best of neighbours. If you could pick people to be your neighbours, you would want the Millars," said one distraught resident.
"I want them back, everyone in the estate wants them back in their home and in their community. Their home is everybody's home, their front door is always open to everyone," she added.
"Mary and Hilary and Roy couldn't get out of the house because the doors and windows had been reinforced after Catholics had stoned all of our houses," said another neighbour.
"Roy managed to get Mary and Hilary into the bathroom. Hilary doused Mary in water to protect her from the flames and lay on top of her. That's how Hilary was burnt - protecting her mother."
The police officer leading the investigation described the attack as "pure naked sectarianism". Supt Ian Hamill said he was restricted in what he could say because two men had been arrested for questioning about the incident.
"What I can say is that I have spoken to the family in the hospital's intensive care unit. They very much appreciate the support and help they have received from their neighbours and they realise without that help it would have been much worse.
"They also say they don't want anyone to use this to justify any form of revenge attack. They are in pain and they are suffering and they say they want no family to have to endure what they are enduring."
Police are also trying to establish if a fire which destroyed a Presbyterian church hall near Lisburn, Co Antrim early yesterday morning was started deliberately. The Hillhall Presbyterian hall was destroyed in the blaze at around 4 a.m., but fire tenders managed to prevent it spreading to the adjoining church.
RUC officers and forensics specialists have been carefully examining the scene to determine if the fire was arson.
The Sinn Fein Assembly member, Mr Gerry Kelly, has claimed that loyalists intent on "derailing the peace process" were responsible for a pipe-bomb attack on a Catholic home at Westland Road in north Belfast on Sunday evening. No one was injured.
Mr Kelly said that once again loyalists were targeting Catholics at random, and the motive was to undermine the peace process at a sensitive time. "Sinn Fein is adamant that such actions will have no impact on either the talks or the process itself," he added.
In a statement Sinn Fein accused the North's Security Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, of refusing to meet the party to discuss the recent discovery of British army files at Stoneyford Orange Hall. Several people named in the files were warned of a possible loyalist threat against them.
"It is incumbent on Adam Ingram that he meet with us and explain in detail what he proposes to do to rectify the situation," said Sinn Fein.
A Northern Ireland Office official confirmed that Mr Ingram did not feel a meeting "at this time would be beneficial".