Two water cannon, imported from Belgium, are likely to be deployed over the coming days to curb continuing street violence in Belfast. The latest unrest has spread to west Belfast following the sporadic unrest in the east of the city.
Springfield Road police station came under attack from some 50 firebombs early yesterday. An organised group appeared around midnight, attacked the base and then disappeared. The SDLP said yesterday the attack was clearly co-ordinated and politically motivated.
A protest by loyalist women blocked the lower Newtownards Road for a time before noon, but the demonstration passed off peacefully.
Public order dominated questions to the acting chief constable at the Policing Board headquarters yesterday. He was giving his assessment of the security situation at a public meeting of the 19-member board.
Mr Colin Cramphorn, who leads the PSNI until the recently-appointed Mr Hugh Orde takes over, told members the public order situation was as severe as anything in the past four years. He warned them that demands on police numbers and resources was draining and that investigation of "ordinary" crime was affected.
Violence has recurred through- out north Belfast for the past year, most notably at the height of the Holy Cross school dispute. The highly contentious loyalist parade known locally as the Tour of the North is due next week.
Last month, violence flared at a sectarian interface between the republican enclave of Short Strand and the loyalist Newtownards Road area. Hundreds of police officers and soldiers are deployed there to keep a lid on the situation. Six people have been shot and homes destroyed. Police have fired 61 plastic bullets to date.
The spread of trouble to west Belfast and the Ormeau area, known for local hostility to the rerouting of controversial Orange marches, prompted unionist members of the Policing Board to ask what measures are being taken by police to respond.
Mr Cramphorn denied DUP claims that nationalist areas were being left to police themselves.
He told them two water cannon, normally acquired for Drumcree, had arrived from Belgium and could be deployed by tomorrow. Additional machines will arrive next year, but he stressed the use of such weapons was not "a cure-all". He also highlighted the limits to which officers had been stretched, adding that 28 had been injured.
Asked about paramilitary involvement, Mr Cramphorn repeated security assessments which conclude that loyalists and republicans are active on both sides. He said it was a political question for the Northern Secretary to decide if ceasefires are broken.
Mr Cramphorn believed three groups were active on the republican side but he declined to name names.
The emphasis on the demands made on police resources by the acting chief constable and some unionist board members may yet have a political effect. Nationalists privately concede that officer numbers are a problem.
The Patten report recommended a service of some 7,500 officers under normal conditions. But in the current unstable climate, pressure may well build for additional resources.
"I cannot be sure which of these groups were responsible for the shots fired and until I'm sure I'm not going to make any attribution," he said.