Crossmaglen army tower coming down

The British army watchtower in Crossmaglen is being decommissioned this week.

The British army watchtower in Crossmaglen is being decommissioned this week.

One of the North's most heavily fortified landmarks, the sangar guard post in the south Armagh republican heartland of Crossmaglen was built in 1992 to protect British soldiers in one of the areas most hostile to their presence during the Troubles.

The decision to knock it down is part of the British government's security normalisation moves that followed the July 2005 Provisional IRA declaration of an end to its armed campaign.

The sangar will be lifted from the tower tomorrow by a crane, and the rest of the structure will then be dismantled.

READ MORE

Its disappearance will mean plans to withdraw soldiers from Crossmaglen police station by March 31 remain on course.

In recent months, the army's presence at the base has been scaled down, and the Crossmaglen site is to be used only as a police station.

Under Operation Banner, the British government's plan to scale down the military, the number of troops in Northern Ireland should be reduced by July 31st to a peacetime garrison of no more than 5,000 personnel.