Armagh watchtower to be dismantled

The last remaining British Army watchtower is due to be dismantled today in County Armagh.

The armoured sangar post in Crossmaglen is being removed later today as part of the government's normalisation process sparked by the IRA's decision to end its armed campaign in 2005.

The watchtower was built in 1992 to protect British soldiers in the area during the height of the 'Troubles'.

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

Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy, MP for Newry and Armagh, welcomed the announcement to remove the watchtower saying that it has been a "blight on this community for too long," and added that "local people will be glad to see the back of this eyesore and those who spied on them from within it."

Ulster Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy, however, accused the Government of cynically giving republicans a leg up during the middle of the Assembly Election campaign, adding that "it appears to have been done for reasons of political expediency."

Under the government operation to scale down the military presence in Northern Ireland, the number of troops remaining in the province is to be cut down to no more than 5,000 personnel across 10 military sites by the end of July this year.

(EF/SP)