Peace mural in Belfast. Photograph by Pietro Izzo
Undercover British army soldiers accidentally killed unarmed civilians in Northern Ireland during the Troubles as they hunted down members of the IRA.
Former soldiers from the Military Reaction Force (MRF) admitted the accidental deaths for the first time to reporters from BBC Panorama in their investigation for the upcoming episode Britain’s Secret Terror Force.
They explain that the MRF was tasked with minimising IRA activities, with soldiers patrolling the streets around the clock in unmarked cars or dressed as street sweepers to avoid suspicion. Alongside the surveillance, the unit also reportedly targeted and killed well-known IRA assassins and bomb-makers, but the soldiers interviewed by Panorama admitted that there were occasions when they shot and killed unarmed civilians after mistakenly thinking they saw a gun on him.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has referred the claims to the police.
Despite some mistakes, the soldiers believed that their work ultimately helped bring about the end of the violence in Northern Ireland, with the IRA brought to the negotiating table.
The news of these accidental killings comes a day after John Larkin, Northern Ireland’s attorney general, proposed ending the prosecutions over troubles-related deaths prior to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and idea criticised by the families of the deceased who are looking for justice.
Panorama: Britain’s Secret Terror Force will air on BBC One, Thursday 21 November at 21:00 GMT.
1 Comment
It wasn’t accidental. It was on purpose. A shoot to kill policy by the british government on it’s own citizens.