Rioting in the streets of Belfast, Ireland 1989
Bloody Sunday (Irish: Domhnach na Fola)—sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil-rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army. Thirteen males, seven of whom were teenagers, died immediately or soon after, while the death of another man four-and-a-half months later was attributed to the injuries he received on that day. Two protesters were also injured when they were run down by army vehicles. Five of those wounded were shot in the back. The incident occurred during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march; the soldiers involved were members of the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (1 Para).
Two investigations have been held by the British government. The Widgery Tribunal, held in the immediate aftermath of the event, largely cleared the soldiers and British authorities of blame—Widgery described the soldiers’ shooting as “bordering on the reckless”—but was criticised as a “whitewash”, including by Jonathan Powell. The Saville Inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 to reinvestigate the events. Following a twelve-year inquiry, Saville’s report was made public on 15 June 2010, and contained findings of fault that could re-open the controversy, and potentially lead to criminal investigations for some soldiers involved in the killings. The report found that all of those shot were unarmed, and that the killings were both “unjustified and unjustifiable.” On the publication of the Saville report the British prime minister, David Cameron, made a formal apology on behalf of the United Kingdom.
- 16 March 1988: The UDA/UFF attack an IRA funeral in Milltown Cemetary killing 3 people. The event is captured live on televison.
- 19 March 1988: Two undercover British soldiers who drove into an IRA funeral are dragged from their vehicle, disarmed and shot dead. The entire incident is captured on television.
This video shows a Provisional IRA active-service unit of the South Armagh Brigade carry out an attack on a British Army Lynx helciopter using a DShK anti-aircraft gun, an M60 and some other smaller rifles. The attack took place in Crossmaglen in 1991.
