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Northern Irish parties assure peace process will not be damaged in spite of killings

 
Sinn Féin has said that killers “would not be allowed to drag Northern Ireland back to the past”, while unionists urge for calm and continue working together with republicans · Gerry Adams, Peter Robinson and Gordon Brown have rejected violence in a joint press conference · Two British soldiers and an Irish police officer have been shot dead in the last three days.

Violence in Northern Ireland has reemerged this week after two British army soldiers and a policeman have been shot dead. RIRA (Real IRA) and CIRA (Continuity IRA) -splinter groups of PIRA (Provisional IRA)- have respectively claimed responsibility for the murders. Northern Ireland political parties have condemned the assassination. Sinn Féin has branded it as an "attack on the peace process" and added they would not allow the shared government to break off.

As for the unionist sector, DUP (Democratic Ulster Party, currently sharing government with Sinn Féin) sources have confirmed they would keep on working alongside Republicans in favour of the political process, while PUP (Progressive Unionist Party) have urged the protestant community to keep calm.

Gerry Adams and Peter Robinson, leaders of Sinn Féin and DUP, have issued a joint statement together with UK's Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, in order to show public unity against the terrorist threat.

The latest killings are the first deadly attacks in the last 10 years for which PIRA's splinter groups have claimed responsibility. After decades of violence between Republicans and unionists, Northern Ireland took its first steps in solving the conflict during the 90's through a peace process which did commence after PIRA cease fire and the Good Friday Agreement on April 10 1998. In accordance with the settlement, powers were transferred to the Northern Ireland Parliament and Sinn Féin officially became a full party within the Assembly.

According to BBC, Continuity IRA had its origins in 1986 following Sinn Féin's decision to end its policy of abstention and start taking seats in the Irish Republic's parliament. For many years the CIRA was a very small and largely inactive group. The Real IRA was born out of a split in the mainstream Provisional IRA (PIRA) in 1997, when Sinn Féin fully embraced the peace process. The Real IRA was responsible for the Omagh bombing in August 1998, which killed 29 people. The security forces believe the two organisations have co-operated in a number of attacks.

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