North endgame in sight as IRA destroys arms

THE Provisional IRA has destroyed its vast arsenal of weapons and explosives, the head of the international decommissioning body will confirm today.

General John de Chastelain will brief the Irish and British Governments on the momentous development this morning, telling them that IRA decommissioning has been completed.

The retired Canadian general will hold a news conference in Belfast this afternoon where he will give details of the extent and type of military materiel that was destroyed. It is expected the two clergymen who witnessed the destruction of arms, Catholic priest Father Alex Reid and former president of the Methodist Church, Harold Good, will also make public statements.