British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin on Thursday called for "calm" in Northern Ireland after holding talks following days of violence in the British province.

Martin and Johnson "spoke this afternoon about the concerning developments in Northern Ireland", where they stressed that "violence is unacceptable" and "called for calm", according to the Irish leader's office.

"The way forward is through dialogue and working the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. They agreed that the two governments would continue to stay in contact," added the statement.

Leaders in Northern Ireland had earlier jointly condemned days of rioting stemming from the territory's pro-UK community, including a petrol bomb attack on a moving bus, as police said they were probing possible paramilitary involvement.

It was the worst unrest in Belfast in recent years, which erupted amid anger over apparent economic dislocation due to Brexit and existing tensions between the pro-UK unionist and pro-Irish nationalist communities.

The UK province's devolved legislative assembly interrupted its Easter break to pass an emergency motion condemning the unrest.

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