UDA under pressure to prove ceasefire is genuine

The Loyalist paramilitary group the Ulster Defence Association has insisted that its ceasfire is genuine.

The 12-month ceasefire was announced this afternoon in a joint statement by the UDA, the Ulster Freedom Fighters and The Ulster Young Militants.

The groups have pledged to establish contact with the international decommissioning body.

Politicians in Dublin, London and Belfast have welcomed the statement.