BELFAST, IRELAND - The main loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland announced Saturday they were decommissioning their weapons, a new milestone in the journey to peace after decades of unrest.

The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Red Hand Commandos (RHC) have reportedly killed around 1,000 people between them during several decades of unrest known as the Troubles.

"The dark days are now behind us and it is time to move on," the UDA said in a statement. "There is no place for guns and violence in the new society we are building. It is time to work for a better future."

Loyalists are Northern Ireland Protestants who want the province to remain part of Britain and are historic foes of Catholic republicans, who believe it should become part of the Republic of Ireland.

A 1998 peace accord ended most of the violence which had plagued Northern Ireland for three decades, killing at least 3,500 people.

And devolved self-rule is now in place in the British province after a landmark accord in 2007 between the Protestant Democratic Unionists (DUP) and Catholic Sinn Fein.

As part of moves overseen by an official commission, the UVF and RHC said they had destroyed their entire arsenals, while the UDA has got rid of some of its arms and has started the process of total decommissioning.

Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward had given loyalist groups an ultimatum, saying they must show "meaningful progress" on decommissioning by August.

The Irish Republican Army (IRA), the main republican paramilitary group, finished destroying its arsenal four years ago, overseen by the commission.

Loyalist groups began disarming last year but the process was suspended after two British soldiers and a policeman in Northern Ireland were shot dead by dissident republicans in March.

The process restarted after reassurances from the British and Irish governments that those responsible for the attacks "would be vigorously pursued", the UVF and RHC said.