It follows the cancellation of a significant dissident meeting in Toome, Co Derry, on Tuesday night following disagreement over the agenda.

Provisional IRA intimidation was not the reason for the cancellation. Toome was chosen as the venue because up to 40 members of the Provisionals' South Derry brigade had recently defected amidst disillusionment with the leadership's strategy.

The Sunday Tribune last week reported that those dissidents, along with Real IRA, Continuity IRA and INLA members, and political activists with no military involvement, were due to attend the meeting.

Former Provisional IRA prisoner Paddy Murray, who is currently on bail on Real IRA charges, said ways of moving forward "politically and military" would be debated.

However, some of the republicans involved, who don't support the continuation of armed struggle, were alarmed and said the meeting was being "hijacked." They told the Sunday Tribune they wanted "a purely political meeting."

Others were concerned that sentiments such as Murray's had been expressed publicly and believed republican meetings should not receive advance media coverage.

Willie Gallagher of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the INLA's political wing, who was due to attend, said: "We didn't see it as a military meeting. There was nothing sinister about it.

"The IRSP doesn't believe the willpower, manpower, or weaponry exists for armed struggle, and we don't advocate it. However, more and more republicans recognise the Good Friday agreement copperfastens partition. We still need to get together to discuss ways of moving forward."

Murray said: "I don't think anything can be ruled in or anything can be ruled out at any public meeting. There will be another meeting in coming weeks and small, private meetings of anti-agreement republicans of different hues happen all the time."

Dominic Og McGlinchey, son of murdered INLA chiefof-staff Dominic McGlinchey, who was due to attend the meeting, was quoted last week as denying a split among mainstream republicans in south Derry. McGlinchey was until recently a strong Sinn Fein supporter.

Murray said he was "very surprised" by McGlinchey's comments: "I haven't spoken to Dominic all week but everybody knows there was a split in south Derry."

Meanwhile, Republican Sinn Fein has said it won't take part in any meeting to form a united dissident front.