Northern Ireland's paramilitaries dump arsenal

By Anne Cadwallader

BELFAST (Reuters) - Paramilitary forces Saturday completed a historic step in the Northern Ireland peace process by scrapping their weapons in front of independent witnesses.

The moves, confirmed by the British and Irish governments, underscored commitment across the sectarian divide to ending violence but did not remove a threat from hardline splinter groups operating on both sides.

"The struggle has ended," said the Ulster Defence Association, which has also begun to fully decommission arms. "Peace and democracy have been secured and the need for armed resistance has gone. Consequently we are putting our arsenal of weaponry permanently beyond use."

An Ulster Volunteer Force statement was read to reporters in Belfast by a man representing the UVF and the Red Hand Commando and wearing an ordinary suit, a change from when paramilitary spokesmen addressed the media in masks, toting guns.

"The leadership of the Ulster Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando today confirms it has completed the process of rendering ordnance totally and irreversibly beyond use," the UVF and the RHC statement said.

The UVF killed more than 540 people during 30 years of conflict with pro-Irish nationalists, making it the most lethal of the province's loyalist groups.

RELATIVE PEACE

Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace since a 1998 deal ended the IRA's military campaign to end British control of the province and unite Ireland.