>>>>>> Loyalist violence escalates


A 12 year old girl from North Belfast was the victim of a vicious
sectarian attack on Sunday.

At 5pm yesterday, as she and her mother were walking in the
Whitewell Road area, a gang of teenagers jumped her and kicked
Megan Brown in the face while shouting sectarian abuse.

Megan said: "I was walking home from the Abbey Centre with my
mummy, I was a little bit in front of her.

"There was a crowd of about five wee boys and three wee girls, I
didn't pay any attention until one of the girls jumped on my back
and pulled me down.

"When I was down the others all came round and they were kicking
me in the face and stamping on my back, they were shouting at me
'don't you dare walk down this road, you Fenian B'.

"I was terrified because they would not stop. My whole face and
back is very sore today and I do not want to have to leave the
house."

Megan, a pupil at the Little Flower School in Belfast, was taken
to the Royal Victoria Hospital where she was treated for six
hours for facial and back injuries including bruising and
swelling.

Her mother Anne-Marie Brown today spoke of her anger following
the attack.

"Because Megan was walking a few yards in front of her brothers
and sisters and me they thought she was on her own.

"It was definitely a sectarian attack because of what they
shouted and afterwards they ran off into the White City."

There have been fears that tensions at the sectarian interface
could again reignite this summer over the Protestant marching
season. The Brown family is already considering a move away from
the area.

Sinn Fein Councillor Carol Cullen described the sectarian attack
on a young girl in North Belfast as 'outrageous' and 'deeply
worrying'.


* The unionist paramilitary UDA has denied it was involved in the
death of Ardoyne man Stephen Montgomery in Belfast last month. It
has been alleged that the group, under the cover of the 'Red Hand
Defenders', were involved in the hit-and-run, which the victim's
family believes was murder. The UDA also stated that the 'Red
Hand Defenders' no longer exists.


* The unionist paramilitary LVF has not commented on allegations
it was involved in the disappearance of Bangor woman Lisa Dorrian
last month. Walls have been daubed in the village of
Ballyhalbert, where Ms Dorrian was last seen, suggesting the
involvement of a local LVF drugs gang in her disappearance.


* A petrol bomb was thrown into the loyalist Newtownards area of
east elfast and six cars were set alight on Sunday. The
disturbances follow trouble in the area on Friday night which
erupted during a search of a house under licensing laws. A
gambling machine and alcohol were seized during the raid.