BELFAST,11 (AFP) -London restored direct rule over Northern Ireland at midnight Friday following the suspension of the province's power-sharing government.
The assembly and government have been suspended for a "very short period" to give its bickering Protestant and Catholic leaders a chance to reach a deal to salvage the peace process.
The move, announced by Northern Ireland secretary John Reid earlier Friday, is a technical measure which buys time for political leaders in the province to find a way out of the impasse caused by the Irish Republican Army's refusal to disarm. (Read photo caption below)
Reid said suspension would be "open-ended," but most expectations are that it would only last the weekend.
He said he would meet Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen early Saturday to review progress and their review would be finished within a day.
That indicates that power-sharing could be restored by Sunday, which would then trigger a further six-week period for the parties in Northern Ireland to try to reach an agreement.
Reid said the province was "tantalisingly close" to a deal.
The suspension sparked a furious reply from the IRA's political wing Sinn Fein, which accused Reid of doing "a deal" with the Protestant Unionists.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary, John Reid speaks to the media at Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland, Friday Aug. 10, 2001. Reid announced that he was suspending the Northern Ireland power-sharing Assembly at Stormont, a maneuver that will give political parties six more weeks to break their impass over Irish Republican Army disarmament. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
- Aug 10 2:09 PM ET