Northern Ireland's largest loyalist pro-London paramilitary group announced Wednesday that it had completed disarmament, a milestone in the troubled province's peace process. The political wing of the Ulster Defense Association (UDA), held responsible for about 400 murders during the civil strife in the British-ruled province, said it had put the remainder of its arsenal beyond use. “Today the leadership of the UDA can confirm that all weaponry under its control has been put verifiably beyond use,” said Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) leader Frankie Gallagher at a press conference in Belfast. The move, which came ahead of a February deadline to decommission, was facilitated by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) under the leadership of Canadian Gen. John de Chastelain.
