Dissident republican groups in the North have turned their efforts to trying to kill PSNI officers, according to the twentieth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), which was published today.
The latest report, which assesses the activities of paramilitary groups in the six-month period from March to August, reveals dissident republican organisations are co-operating with each other to a greater extent than in the past.
According to the commission's assessment, there were more attacks carried out by republican dissidents than at any time since the IMC began reviewing paramilitary groups four and a half years ago.
The commission said it believed if it were not for the fact that police on both sides of the Border have been successful in disrupting dissident operations and arresting suspects, the number of incidents would have been higher.
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) and the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) were all considered by the commission to be active threats.
The IMC concludes that "dissident republicans remain committed to terrorist violence and are a serious threat to public safety".
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said that the commission's assessment of dissident republican groups was worrying.
"These groups have no mandate, they represent only themselves. Their criminal activities should leave no doubt about their priorities. Members of these groups need to leave behind their failed ideology, move on and join the rest of the people of this island in rejecting violence and in building a better, more inclusive, society, to the benefit of all," said Mr Ahern.
The report suggests that while activities by dissident groups have risen, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) remains committed to the political path.
Separately, it concludes that the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) also remains committed to putting weapons beyond reach, downsizing the organisation and reducing the level of criminality on the part of its members. The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is also reported to have continued to show "a genuine desire for change".
During the six-month period under review, there was one paramilitary murder while the number of casualties from both shootings and assaults fell by 41 per cent from 39 to 23. Dissident republicans caused 89 per cent of the shooting casualties and loyalists 64 per cent of the assault casualties.
