Related Event: IRA Abandons Arms

According to the plan, the number of troops in the province would be cut from 10,500 to 5,000.

The plan also involves the closure of 26 of 40 army sites as well as the removal of fortifications from police stations and dismantling of watchtowers.

The government also pledged to repeal within two years counter-terrorist legislation which only applies to Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain on the same day stressed that the withdrawal of troops was contingent on the security situation, pledging the government would "not do anything to compromise" the safety of people in the province.

The Irish Republican Army or the IRA announced on July 28 that it will abandon its armed campaign and follow a democratic framework to revive Northern Ireland's peace process.