The Northern Ireland peace process is under renewed pressure after claims that IRA activity in Colombia was sanctioned by two of its most senior members. Sinn Féin has dismissed the claims as unfounded.
Three IRA suspects are currently awaiting trial in the South American country charged with training Marxist FARC guerrillas, something they and the republican movement deny.
But a top-level assessment by the security forces is that the IRA was using Colombia as a testing ground to try out new weapons including rockets, and that the activity was "definitely sanctioned at IRA army council level".
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However, it is unclear who carried out the assessment.
Sinn Féin Assembly member Mr Gerry Kelly dismissed the "unfounded allegations" which he said were emanating from anonymous British sources.
He said they had been heard before and that "there is nothing new in them".
The apparent security assessment is that Mr Brian Keenan, the IRA's representative to the international body working on IRA decommissioning and Mr Thomas "Slab" Murphy, sanctioned the Colombia activity, according to a report on BBC Radio Ulster.
Speaking ahead of the UUP's 120-member executive meeting in Belfast tomorrow, Mr David Burnside has argued that a tough line needed to be adopted towards republicans following the claims
"The IRA's ceasefire is in tatters," he said.
"That is clear with all the revelations that have been coming out about Colombia, the Castlereagh Special Branch office break-in, the street violence in the Short Strand.
"Now is time for the UUP to take action by seeking the support of the SDLP and Alliance Party and Women's Coalition for a motion in the Assembly to expel Sinn Féin from the government of Northern Ireland.
"If that fails, our ministers should withdraw from the Stormont executive and I hope the Democratic Unionists will follow suit."
"If David [Trimble] does not draw a line in the sand at tomorrow's executive, I would support the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) being recalled to draw that line in the sand.
"I would support the UUC setting a deadline for the Assembly to expel Sinn Féin ministers and if that is not achieved, UUP ministers should pull out of the executive.
PA