Loyalist paramilitaries

Loyalist paramilitarism is the violent manifestation of opposition to a united Ireland. The principal Loyalist paramilitary groups are the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), which on 3 May 2007 announced its intention to transform itself into a non-terrorist organisation.

Loyalist paramilitaries have been heavily involved in criminal activity and, although several groups have declared ceasefires, there remains a danger of feuding and indiscriminate violence against the nationalist community.

The Loyalist paramilitary groups originated in the 1960s and 1970s as vigilante groups in Protestant areas of Northern Ireland but swiftly developed into terrorist organisations. Although Loyalist groups have claimed that republican terrorists and prominent nationalists are their targets, they have in the past mounted many sectarian attacks against Catholic and nationalist members of the public, almost exclusively in Northern Ireland.

In April 2007, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) acknowledged that there had been moves within the main Loyalist groups to distance themselves from criminality, move away from paramilitarism and engage more positively in their communities.