British Army found to have massacred unarmed civilians in Ballymurphy, Northern Ireland, in August 1971
A long-delayed inquest into the shooting deaths of 10 people in the Ballymurphy estate in Belfast, Northern Ireland has concluded that all were civilians, posed no threat to anyone, were unarmed and that nine of them were shot by the British Army. Coroner Mrs Justice Keegan could not definitively identify the origin of the bullet that shot the tenth person.
The verdict was welcomed by relatives and supporters of those killed. John Teggart, whose father Daniel was among those shot dead, addressed a press conference.
John Teggart s father Danny (44) was shot 14 times-mainly in the back as he lay injured on the ground - by the British Army. Photo taken at an event in 2014. (credit: Sinn Fein-FlickR)
After decades, Northern Ireland inquest recognizes victims of Ballymurphy Massacre catholicworldreport.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from catholicworldreport.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 13, 2021 09:01:02 am
Inquests into the deaths of 10 people in Northern Ireland’s capital Belfast during a British Army operation in August 1971 concluded on Tuesday that all of them were civilians who posed no threat to the soldiers, and that the use of force by the army was “clearly disproportionate.”
Between August 9-11, 1971, during The Troubles, in Belfast’s Ballymurphy area, the Parachute Regiment of the British Army arrested and detained people suspected to be members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which opposed the British rule. This was part of the army’s rounding up of suspects for internment without trial in Republican districts across the country. About 3,600 people were killed in the conflict between the IRA, pro-British “loyalist” paramilitary and the British Army by the time it ended with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The events of these three days are known by the survivors as the Ballymurphy massacre. While inquests had been conducted in 1
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will write in person to the families of the Ballymurphy victims to express his apologies for their deaths 50 years ago.
Last modified on Thu 13 May 2021 10.50 EDT
Boris Johnson is to write letters of apology to the families of 10 people killed during a British army operation in Ballymurphy in 1971 after his initial attempt to apologise backfired and angered them.
The Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, made a public apology on behalf of the UK government in the House of Commons on Thursday, two days after the conclusion of an inquest into the shootings, and said the prime minister would write to the families.
The families, however, are still requesting a public apology from Johnson as the head of the government, a spectacle Downing Streets appears to be trying to avoid.