Army ends daytime patrols in Belfast

Twenty-five years and five months after the first nervous British tommies took up positions on the Falls Road, it was yesterday announced the army is ending daytime Belfast patrols.

The move was greeted with almost universal approval in Belfast, London and Dublin. The RUC said it would come into effect from next Sunday, since threat assessments indicated a steady decline in troop numbers needed to support its officers. Most unusually, the development was welcomed by both Unionists and republicans.

The Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis declared: "I'm more than delighted. I would hope that this would be the military off the streets for good." Joe Austin, of Sinn Fein, said: "It's probably the first indication that the British Government have come on board in the peace process. It isn't earth-shattering but it is certainly a step in the right direction."

Troop levels and activity have been gradually scaled down since the IRA ceasefire was declared last August, and army patrols have disappeared from a number of towns and cities. Extending this to Belfast, however, is seen as an important milestone in the peace process.

There are 11,700 troops in Ulster - at the height of the Troubles there were 17,000. They were deployed on the streets of Belfast and Londonderry in August 1969 in response to widespread disturbances in the two cities.

The military presence, intended as a temporary measure to restore order, developed into a permanent fixture for an entire generation. More than 160 of the almost 500 military casualties have been killed in the city, more than half in the west's sprawlin g republican ghettos.

Though troops will now be much less in evidence, those districts will remain studded with heavily protected military bases. It was made clear yesterday that there are no immediate plans to cut the number of soldiers in Ulster, but the general assumption is that there will be cuts should ceasefires hold.

The Irish government, welcoming the move, said it was important such steps should continue to strengthen confidence that the ceasefires would lead to substantial changes in security and other areas.

New atmosphere, page 2