Asia-Pacific

Clinton welcomes UDA weapons decommission

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-07 13:22

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Wednesday the decommissioning of weapons by Northern Ireland's Ulster Defense Association, the last loyalist paramilitary group to do so.

Clinton praised the move as a positive step toward securing lasting peace in Northern Ireland, saying the people of Northern Ireland have "traveled a long way" since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which ended violence between loyalists and republicans.

However, Clinton said "the journey is not over," and reaffirmed US commitment to supporting Northern Ireland in its progress towards a future of peace and prosperity.

The UDA emerged in Northern Ireland in 1971. The outlawed group was blamed for more than 400 deaths from 1971 to 1994, mostly Catholic civilians. It announced earlier Wednesday it has fully disarmed, meeting the key requirement of the 1998 peace accord.

Two prominent witnesses confirmed they observed the surrender and destruction of UDA weapons in recent weeks.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA), the main republican paramilitary group, finished destroying its weapons four years ago.