A new inspection of IRA arms dumps has been carried out by international observers who reported them secure, it was announced today.
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Gen John de Chastelain, head of the International Decommissioning Commission.
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Gen John de Chastelain, head of the International Decommissioning Commission, also reported that since his last reported meeting with the IRA's representative in March he had continued to engage with him.
The inspectors said in their report they had planned to carry out their latest inspection in the first quarter of the year. They had been unable to do so due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth and curbs on movement.
They added: "With the easing of restrictions of movement we re-inspected the arms dumps. As we stated in our previous reports these dumps held a substantial amount of military material, including explosives and related equipment, as well as weapons and other material."
In a brief statement accompanying the report, Gen de Chastelain and his two fellow commissioners said: "We have been advised by the inspectors that they have carried out a third inspection of IRA arms. A copy of their report is attached.
"Since our reported meeting in March with the IRA representative we have continued to engage with him in the pursuit of our mandate." PA