All sides condemn Armagh mortar attack
There has been political condemnation from all sides in the North after last night's bomb attack in the south Armagh village of Bessbrook.
Sinn Fein says it appears to be an attempt to disrupt the election campaign.
The Ulster Unionists say it shows there can be no scaling down of the British Army presence in the area.
More people in Bessbrook were evacuated from their homes this morning as the British Army continued to search for a possible unexploded mortar bomb in the village.
It is not yet clear whether the explosion heard last night was the firing mechanism of the mortar itself exploding.
Paul Barry of the DUP said as far as he was concerned the bomb attack could not have been mounted without the mainstream IRA's contrivance.
He said the republican presence in south Armagh remained high and there could be no question of any scaling down of security in the area as demanded by Sinn Fein.
Sinn Fein's Connor Murphy said that this was inflammatory language.
He said he was grateful no one had been hurt last night and if politics were seen to work it would restrict the ability of dissident republicans to operate.
