The Provisional IRA has stated that it is "investigating" the theft of weapons from its arms stockpiles, suggesting they have been taken by hardline former members opposed to the ceasefire.
An IRA statement carried in today's edition of the Republican News confirmed that a "small" amount of weaponry had been "secretly misappropriated" by people who defected from its ranks over a year ago.
The IRA had recovered "some, but not all" of the weapons from the individuals concerned, it said.
Its attentions are understood to be focused on people who became involved with the so-called "Real IRA", which admitted responsibility for the Omagh bombing in August which killed 29 people.