Quoting from the Irish Republican Army's statement: "The leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann (IRA; literally in Gaelic, "Soldiers of Ireland") 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. Volunteers must not engage in any other activities whatsoever.
"The IRA leadership has also authorized our representative to engage with the IICD (Independent International Commission on Decommissioning) to complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use in a way which will further enhance public confidence and to conclude this as quickly as possible...
"The Army Council took these decisions following an unprecedented internal discussion and consultation process with IRA units and volunteers.
"We appreciate the honest and forthright way in which the consultation process was carried out and the depth and content of the submissions. We are proud of the comradely way in which this truly historic discussion was conducted.
"The outcome of our consultations show very strong support among IRA volunteers for the Sinn Fein peace strategy."
See also: Sinn Fein
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