Tension was high in Belfast last night following the death of a teenage boy and a second day in which children had to be escorted by security forces into the Holy Cross Primary School.
There were fears of a further escalation of violence in the north of the city after a 16-yearold boy was killed as he cycled near the interface between the loyalist White City and nationalist Longlands housing estates.
He was named as Thomas McDonald and it is alleged that he was killed after a car from Longlands mounted the pavement. A 32-year-old woman was last night in police custody.
Mr Samuel Blair, a friend of the boy's family, said the killing was sectarian and loyalists would be intent on revenge. "It will be an eye for an eye. We have been under pressure for so long and the RUC have been turning their backs on us."
The acting First Minister, Sir Reg Empey, and acting Deputy Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, in a joint statement said: "This sectarian strife, which places children in the front line, is creating a dangerous situation for all of us. This problem is not north Belfast's problem; it's every one's problem."
The former first minister, Mr David Trimble, the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Robin Eames, and the Minister for Education, Mr Martin McGuinness, warned of further disturbances in schools. Mr Trimble said trouble could spread to other schools in the area.
Two police officers were slightly injured when a nail bomb and several blast bombs were thrown during disturbances last night in Ardoyne. A burst of automatic fire was heard in the area before 10 p.m.
Loyalist rioting was reported in Glenbryn. A barrage of missiles, including fireworks and catapulted ball-bearings, were used against police.
Earlier, police and troops formed a protective corridor as about 45 children and their parents were led into the school. In confrontations with loyalist residents earlier, they mounted a number of baton charges. A pipe bomb injured three RUC officers, one of whom sustained a broken collar bone.