The withdrawal of 400 troops and the announcement that a number of checkpoints in Bessbrook, south Armagh, are to be ended have received a broad welcome from politicians North and South.
In a statement yesterday the RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, said he made the decision as part of an ongoing review of the security situation in the North, but stressed that the military scale-down could be reversed if there was a renewed paramilitary threat. Soldiers from the 16th Regiment Royal Artillery will leave Drumadd Barracks, Co Armagh, by Chinook helicopter on Monday and return to their London base. The move brings British troop levels in Northern Ireland to just over 15,000, the lowest since the 1970s.
Three permanent vehicle checkpoints in Bessbrook village will be closed, and arrangements are being made for them to be dismantled in the future.
"I hope that the people of Bessbrook, and the people of Armagh generally, appreciate the easing of restrictions on the way they want to go about their business," said Mr Flanagan.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, described the move as an important step and urged that "the momentum of normalisation be maintained in the period ahead".
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, also welcomed the news as "very encouraging". She noted that to maintain momentum in demilitarisation there must be "confidence on behalf of everyone to continue moving forward on all parts of the agreement together."
However, a Sinn Fein Assembly member for South Armagh, Mr Pat McNee, dismissed the withdrawals as cosmetic changes and urged people to react with caution to the news.
"The closure of these checkpoints will do nothing to address the major issue of helicopter noise and the military occupation of Bessbrook village," he added.
Mr John Fee, the SDLP Assembly member for the area, welcomed the announcement and outlined how the people of Bessbrook had shown "patience and tolerance" with the military checkpoints.