MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2021) An umbrella group representing Irish loyalist paramilitaries wrote a letter to the UK prime minister, telling him it was withdrawing support for the 1998 peace deal, which ended decades of fighting over Irish unity.
"The Loyalist Groupings are herewith withdrawing their support for the Belfast Agreement and its institutions until our rights under the Agreement are restored," a letter signed by the head of the Loyalist Communities Council read.
LCC chairman David Campbell specified that the umbrella group, which represents the Ulster Volunteer Force, Ulster Defense Association and Red Hand Commando, wanted to restore unfettered flow of goods, services and people between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
"If you or the EU is not prepared to honour the entirety of the Agreement then you will be responsible for the permanent destruction of the agreement," he warned in the letter, dated March 3.
The peace deal, also known as Good Friday Agreement, put an end to a bloody armed conflict between nationalists fighting for a unified Ireland and loyalists who wanted to keep Northern Ireland part of the UK. Avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland proved a sticking point during Brexit talks between London and Brussels.
