Adams refuses to comment on reports of imminent IRA split

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has refused to comment on reports that the leader of the Provisional IRA is planning to establish a breakaway group if complete decommissioning goes ahead.

Reports in the tabloid press this morning, quoting senior garda sources, claimed the IRA chief-of-staff and republican hardliners in south Armagh were adamantly opposed to decommissioning and were threatening to split the IRA if Sinn Féin agrees to complete disarmament.