N.Ireland militia rejects violence
The major Northern Ireland Protestant paramilitary group, the Ulster Defense Association, announced Sunday it was formally renouncing violence, but a commander said the group would not surrender its weapons to international disarmament officials. The group, which has an estimated 3,000 members across hardline parts of Northern Ireland, has loosely observed a cease-fire since 1994, but until now has refused to surrender a single bullet or bomb — a major objective of a 1998 peace accord. Full Story