Demolition work gets under way today on the last military observation towers in south Armagh.
The move is the latest phase in the Northern Ireland demilitarisation programme introduced by the British government last summer after the Provisional IRA announced it had abandoned armed struggle.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern welcomed the start of work, saying it was "yet another tangible demonstration of the transformed security situation in Northern Ireland".
"Their removal, as part of an ongoing process of security normalisation, is an important step in giving a fresh start to these communities in moving away from the shadow of conflict and towards an open and prosperous future," he said.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed the hilltop sites in south Armagh will be returned to green-field status as soon as possible.
Five towers on three hilltop sites will be dismantled as part of the second phase of the security normalisation programme, which will run until 2007.
Three towers on Jonesborough Hill and one each on Camlough Mountain and Croslieve Hill will be torn down. The Ministry of Defence said the towers ceased to be operational on Saturday.