Via Reuters: IRA says ceasing all armed activity in N.Ireland

The Irish Republican Army guerrilla group formally announced an end to its armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland from 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Thursday.

The IRA said in a statement it would cease all armed activity and pursue its aims through politics — a crucial move to revive talks on a lasting political settlement in the violence-torn province. It said its units must “dump arms.”

The statement, seen by Reuters, read in part:

“The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann (IRA) has formally ordered an end to the armed campaign.

“This will take effect from 4 p.m. this afternoon. All IRA units have been ordered to dump arms. All volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programs through exclusively peaceful means.”

The IRA had been expected to outline plans for its future since April, when its political ally Sinn Fein called for the guerrillas to end armed struggle for a united Ireland. Crimes it was accused of fanned calls for the group to disband and sparked harsh censure of Sinn Fein from traditional supporters.

While obviously this has been brewing for some time, one does wonder as to the degree to which the London bombings have made armed struggle utterly untenable at this point in Britain.