Some of those involved in Belfast violence over the past two nights may have links to paramilitary organisations, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said.
Assistant chief constable Jonathan Roberts told the BBC it was not the PSNI's "overall assessment" that illegal groups had orchestrated the disorder but "there are some people who may be close to, or involved with, proscribed paramilitary organisations."
His comments came after the second night of unrest in the capital as police deployed water cannon on rioters on the Springfield Road area, amid clashes on both sides of the interface near Lanark Way.
The latest disorder came as US president Joe Biden has called for a calming of tensions, with the White House saying it was “concerned” by developments.
“We are concerned by the violence in Northern Ireland, and we join the British, Irish, and Northern Irish leaders in their calls for calm,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told a press conference on Thursday.
Prime minister Boris Johnson and Ireland’s taoiseach Micheal Martin have also called for a lowering of tensions following the most violent week Belfast has seen in years.
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