A Catholic man is fighting for his life today after a possible sectarian mob beating in east Belfast.
Witnesses said up to 10 men battered the victim (29) near a peace line in the city.
Paramedics gave emergency treatment after he was found lying on a river walkway at the junction between the Protestant Albertbridge Road and the catholic Short Strand just after 2am.
He was taken to hospital with head injuries. His condition was later described as critical.
Police said the gang who attacked the man all wore either peach, pink or yellow tops.
The thugs, all thought to be heavily tanned, were seen running up the nearby Ravenhill Road after the assault.
Urging witnesses to contact detectives, a police service of Northern Ireland spokesman added: "No motive has been established but a sectarian motive has not been ruled out."
Sinn Féin Assembly member Alex Maskey insisted the attack was fuelled by sectarianism and linked it to heightened tensions over controversial loyalist parades in the city.
He said: "The Orange Order and unionist politicians cannot distance themselves from such attacks and the tensions which flow from contentious parades.
"It is more than coincidence that the last time there were tensions around the Springfield Road parade, loyalists entered the Short Strand and viciously assaulted a local resident."
The nationalist SDLP's east Belfast representative Leo Van Es also condemned the gang attack and claimed "there is a complete breakdown of law in order in parts of Belfast".
Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers described the assault as savage and horrendous. "I hope and pray that the man will make a full recovery," he said.
