Irish History
Britian's Dirty War
I. OverviewII. Shoot to Kill
III. Covert Operations
IV. Target Democracy
V. Legal System
VI. British Garrison in Ireland
VII. Conflict's Deaths
VIII. Orange Myths
DEATHS DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE POLITICAL CONFLICT IN IRELAND
July 1969 through 31 December 1993
[Based upon the revised figures of the Belfast Independent Research Group
]
According to the Belfast Independent Research Group, 3,285 people lost their lives as a direct result of this latest phase of the Anglo/Irish conflict. The vast majority of deaths occurred in the Six Northeastern Counties of British Occupied Ireland. The political violence in these six, small counties of Ireland with a million and one-half people has meant that 1 out of every 500 citizens has been killed. In American terms, it would be the equivalent of 500,000 deaths, 10 Viet Nams. This slaughter is a direct result of the politically motivated gerrymander of Ireland to solve the very short term needs of British political interests.
The Bare Facts
The bare facts are that of the 3, 285 deaths in the conflict from July 1969 to December 1993, Republicans have killed 1,928, Loyalists 911, British forces 357, Irish Republic forces have killed 3 and "others" [deaths impossible to link to a military group] 86. Of these, 3,059 occurred in N. Ireland, 91 in the South, 118 in Britain and 17 in continental Europe. The breakdown:
Loyalist Killings
The IRG lumps all 911 Loyalist paramilitary killings into one group although many groups operate. The IRG lists the groups as:
- Ulster Defense Association [UDA] They have never claimed responsibility
for any killings, probably to preserve their legal status, preferring to use
a nom de guere, Ulster Freedom Fighters [UFF]. The UDA was eventually banned
by British authorities in 1992. Their youth wing, Young Militants, have carried
out some killings.
- Ulster Volunteer Force [UVF] Banned in 1966, but made legal by British authorities
between April 1974 and October 1975, when they were banned again. Their offshoots
are the Protestant Action Group and Protestant Action Force.
- The Red Hand Commandos
- Loyalist Retaliation and Defense Group which emerged during the Summer of 1991.
Republican Activists Killed: Loyalist paramilitaries have killed 20 IRA volunteers, 4 members of the now defunct Official IRA, 4 members of the INLA/IPLO for a total of 28.
Internal Loyalist Feuds: 45 Loyalists operatives [and 1 Civilian] from their various organizations have been killed in internal feuds for a total of 46.
Nationalist Political Activists: [see Target Democracy section re. murder campaign against Sinn Fein] Loyalist paramilitaries have killed 32 Nationalist/Republican political activists, 19 official members and elected councillors of the Sinn Fein party [and many family members in attacks on their homes not considered in this category by IRG]. Also killed by Loyalists were 5 Irish Republican Socialist Party members, 2 Social and Democratic Labor Party members, and 6 from smaller Nationalist political parties.
Sectarian Killings: 670 people were deliberately targeted by Loyalists because they were Catholics, including Protestant civilians killed because they were mistaken for Catholics or married to or associated with Catholic civilians. 73.5% of Loyalist targeted killings were innocent Catholic/Protestant civilians. IRG's assessment is "Given the clandestine nature of Republican military organizations, the identity of many of their members in not know to Loyalists, therefore they have launched attacks on many occasions against the Catholic civilian population, probably in an attempt to intimidate and terrorize this community to abandon its rebellion against Unionist and/or British rule."
Irish Republic: 33 Irish civilians were killed on one day, 17 May 1974, in simultaneous car bomb attacks in Dublin and Monaghan. A total of 43 Irish Republic 43 citizens were deliberately killed by Loyalists.
British forces: A total of 12 members of the British forces were killed by Loyalists, 3 being killed in attacks against Catholic civilians. One Ulster Defense Regiment member was killed because he was a Catholic and one member of the British forces was killed in a bomb attack against a business that remained open during a Loyalist strike. Only 7 of these killing were deliberate [4 RUC members, 1 British soldier, and 2 prison warders].
Premature Bomb explosions: 24 people died in this manner, 23 being Loyalists killed by their own bombs.
Others: 56 individual deaths were considered by IRG to conform to none of the above categories, including the deaths of informers, civilians killed in attacks on Nationalist politicians, Republican military activists, etc. Civilians [i.e., excluding informers and punishment attacks] in this category number 35 [including 17 killed for no known reason].
Analysis: Loyalists paramilitary organizations have killed 911 people, the vast majority were innocent civilians. The tactical objective of the Loyalist campaign is obviously to target for attack the Nationalist/Catholic civilian community. Purposely targeted, civilian deaths [not including accidental civilian deaths], number 713 people or 78.2% of all of their killings and 21.7% of deaths in the conflict as a whole.
They have in fact killed more of their own military activists [45 and 1 civilian] in feuds, and more Sinn Fein and other opposition political activists [32], than they have Republican military forces [28].
The Irish Republican Army
According to the Independent Research group, the IRA are responsible for 1,757 killings, broken down into several categories: Crown Forces, Loyalist Military and Political Activists, Civilian Accidents, Operations in Britain, Sectarian, and other.
Crown Forces: The vast majority, 1,008, fall into the first grouping--British military forces. Of this category the vast majority are full-time or part-time members of the British army--698. The IRA have killed 287 members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary [RUC] and 23 Prison warders. Another 100 deaths were civilians working for British forces, either informErs -- 59, magistrates -- 8, contractors or civilians directly employed by the British army/RUC -- 33.
Loyalist activists: The IRA have killed 24 Loyalist military personnel and 9 political leaders for a total of 33 from this group.
Accidental deaths: A total of 142 civilians were killed by mistake during attacks on British military forces -- 90 in bombings of commercial property [included are 10 outside N. Ireland and 6 killed trying to stop a bomb attack to their property.] Another 130 people died in premature IRA bomb explosions. The vast majority in this category, 102, were IRA members; 28 were civilians.
Britain: 14 British politicians were killed by the IRA and 34 civilians died in IRA attacks, 32 of which took place between July 1974 and March 1976.
Sectarian: According to the Independent Research Group, 133 Protestant civilians were deliberately killed by the IRA: "In response to the killing of Catholics by Loyalists, the IRA has launched indiscriminate attacks against the Protestant civilian community in an attempt to get the Loyalists to stop their attacks on the Catholic community. 85 of these killings occurred during the two years 1975 and 1976."
Other: 73 deaths were considered by IRG "not possible to fit into any of the above categories." 35 of these could be considered civilians [including 12 the IRG considers "precise reason unknown"].
Analysis: It is important when assessing the actions of any military organization to factor in its military objectives, the targets considered militarily legitimate, and occurrences of mistakes or "collateral damage", a euphemism coined during the Persian Gulf military operation -- are these accidents reasonable considering the circumstances of the conflict? It is also important to consider percentages relative to the level of military activity and the total numbers of deaths involved.
During the period reported by IRG, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of IRA operations were directed against British military personnel, which include the full and part-time British army, the armed, sectarian police force which operates in conjunction with the army, and those working directly for the British army.
Military targets killed by the IRA would include the 1,008 considered British military personnel and 24 Loyalist military [and exclude all political activists and civilians whether killed by mistake or on purpose.] Regarding accidental deaths, 272 occurred as a result of operations against military or commercial targets, of these 100 were IRA Volunteers themselves killed in premature explosions. Civilians killed in these operations represent 9.6% of all those killed by the IRA and 5.1% of all those killed by all forces in the conflict.
Those that were killed in Britain [14 politicians and 34 civilians] and those considered by IRG to be sectarian in nature whether justified tactically to prevent murders of Catholics or not -- 133 Protestants, must be considered non-military in nature. This represents 10.1% of the IRA's total and 5.5% of the conflict's total.
Of the 3,285 people who died in the Anglo/Irish conflict from 1969 through 1993, 1032 people were connected to the British crown forces and died in targeted operations of the IRA. 5.1% [170 people] of the total deaths in the conflict occurred in premature explosions or other mistakes as a result of IRA operations against British forces. Of all those considered by IRG to be either political or sectarian, 5.5% were caused by the IRA.
British Military Forces
British army killings total 357, these include 8 by off duty British forces members.
Civilians: A total of 194 non-military individuals were killed by the British military, the vast majority innocent civilians. Only 33 were involved in criminal activity [15 were involved in robberies; 16 traveling in stolen cars, mostly nationalist youths; 1 was attempting to steal a car; and 1 damaging property]. Three members of the Sinn Fein party were killed by the British military. All but one of the 194 were unarmed. 54.3% killed by British forces were civilians.
Republican Military: 121 IRA volunteers and 20 other republican military personnel were killed by British forces. Many were killed in disputed circumstances leading to allegations of a British "Shoot-To-Kill" policy of summary execution of unarmed individuals believed to be members of the IRA. These allegations have been sustained by international legal bodies and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, and suppressed British government reports that have come to light. These killings represent 39.4% of the British military total.
Loyalist Activists: Only 13 Loyalist military activists have been killed by British forces, 3.6% of their total. Only 2 Loyalists paramilitaries have been killed by the British military since 1975.
Other British Forces: Four off duty British soldiers were killed by other British forces who assumed they were civilians when shot. Five undercover British forces were deliberately killed by other British forces during covert operations.
Analysis: Civilians, overwhelmingly Irish Nationalist/Catholic, mark the number one category of British military killings, closely followed by Irish Republican military forces. These killings, confined to the Nationalist community, represent 93.7% of all those killed by official British military forces, the vast majority unarmed.
Summary
The raw data clearly indicates that the IRA is engaged in a military conflict against the British army and its operatives. It is in consideration of the nature of the conflict for insurgent forces against a modern, highly mechanized, sophisticated and armed occupation force that holds all of the ground, that IRA civilian causalities needs to be accessed.
Killings by British and Loyalist forces, individually and in collusion with each other, must be similarly judged, as both absolute numbers and as percentages of the total deaths they are responsible for.
The vast majority of killings by Loyalist paramilitaries have been innocent civilians in an effort to terrorize the nationalist community. 670 people were deliberately targeted and murdered by Loyalists because they were Catholics, including Protestant civilians killed because they were mistaken for Catholics or married to or associated with Catholic civilians. 73.5% of Loyalist targeted killings were innocent Catholic/Protestant civilians.
The vast majority of Irish people killed by British crown forces were unarmed, Catholic non-combatants.