A cautious welcome was yesterday extended to the announcement of a 12-month ceasefire by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the largest loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. The UDA, which has been convulsed recently by violent feuding centred on former commander Johnny “Mad Dog” Adair, said yesterday it would observe a year-long period of “military inactivity”. The caution evident in the welcome for the move arises from the fact that the organisation has often broken its word in the past, so that its statements generally carry little credibility. Nonetheless, there was hope that the group’s current predicament might lead to a quieter period in which its activity level would drop and at least some lives be saved. The group said it would appoint a representative to talk about decommissioning weapons. It made it clear, however, that it would only give up weapons once the IRA had fully disarmed. Full Story
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