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A protest by dissident republican prisoners, who barricaded themselves into a dining room at Maghaberry prison, has ended.

The prison service said it ended peacefully, but it is not known if the prisoners gave themselves up or if the threat of force was used.

The prisoners were 16 Continuity IRA members, 10 Real IRA and two INLA.

A group linked to the Continuity IRA said the protest, which started on Sunday, was over prison conditions.

It said this included lock-downs, the use of sniffer dogs for searching visitors and prisoners not being allowed to wear Easter lilies.

The prison service said the prisoners returned voluntarily to their cells, a move that was observed by members of the Independent Monitoring Board.

Conditions

Prisoners are only allowed to wear the lilies - a symbol of the 1916 Rising - in their cells.

The relatives of some prisoners claimed that a work to rule by staff, had also affected conditions in the jail.

Earlier in the protest Army bomb experts were called to examine a suspicious object thrown into a corridor outside the dining room . It was later declared a hoax.

Prison authorities cancelled visits to the jail on Sunday as the stand-off continued.

No visits had been due to take place at the prison on Monday or Tuesday. Details about visits for the rest of the week will be confirmed later.

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