FACTBOX-Militant Northern Irish groups since 1998

(Reuters) - Northern Ireland marks the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday peace agreement on April 10.

The 1998 deal largely ended 30 years of violence that killed over 3,600 people but tension has persisted between minority Catholics, who mostly want to see the province reunited with the rest of Ireland, and majority Protestants seeking to preserve British sovereignty.

Parties to the 1998 deal promised to use their influence to bring about disarmament of paramilitary groups within two years.

Here are some details on what has happened to these groups since 1998.

REPUBLICAN GROUPS:

The IRA:

-- Blamed for half of the deaths during three decades of conflict, the IRA called a ceasefire in 1997 but its arsenal of weapons, its role in organised crime and its use of punishment beatings to "police" Catholic areas blocked a final resolution.

-- Also known as the Provisional IRA, the group announced in July 2005 it was formally ending its armed struggle and promised to abandon all weapons.

The Real IRA: