Ira May Give Up Guns, Explosives

Britain and the IRA-allied Sinn Fein party appear on the verge of high-level negotiations on having the Irish Republican Army give up its vast arsenal of guns and explosives, sources on both sides said Tuesday.

The IRA began a cease-fire in September, after the British and Irish governments offered to include Sinn Fein in talks on Northern Ireland’s future if the IRA ended its campaign of violence. Sinn Fein began meeting with low-level British officials in December.

Sinn Fein faxed a letter to Britain’s Northern Ireland Office proposing revised terms for the next meeting between the two sides. Britain said it would respond today.