Army's mission in Ulster ends after 38 years
Army's mission in Ulster ends after 38 years
London: As the flag of 39 Infantry Brigade is lowered during an understated ceremony in Northern Ireland yesterday, almost four decades of gallant military history will come to a quiet, yet dignified end.
Professional soldiering allows little time for sentiment, but at that moment veterans of the conflict could be forgiven for pausing to remember their 763 comrades who died as a direct result of terrorism in Ulster.
Although the flag-lowering ritual at Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn, Co Antrim, has been kept deliberately low-key to avoid accusations of triumphalism, it represents the successful conclusion of the Army's longest operation.
It is now 38 years since Op Banner - the mission to support the former Royal Ulster Constabulary - began when soldiers of 2Bn the Queen's Regiment were put on to the streets of Belfast.
At first, their role in protecting the population during an era of civil rights marches, inflammatory marching seasons and large-scale rioting, meant they were welcomed by locals on both sides. But with the formation of the Provisional IRA (PIRA) in December 1969, soldiers were forced to combat a savage terrorist campaign that saw another 6,116 servicemen and women wounded.
At the height of the Troubles in 1972, there were 30,000 British troops in the province. On the streets of Belfast and Londonderry and in the fields of south Armagh, the Army pioneered and perfected the tactics that have proved invaluable in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Timeline: Key events since the conflict began
- 1968 - Roman Catholic minority launches civil rights campaign for better deal from Protestants. Riots follow.
- 1969 - British army sent to Northern Ireland. Worst clashes in 50 years despite civil rights reforms.
- 1972 - British troops kill 13 Catholic protesters on 'Bloody Sunday' in Londonderry. Irish Republican Army (IRA) car bombs kill 11 in Belfast.
- 1972 - British government suspends Protestant-dominated administration in Belfast and takes over direct rule.
- 1979 - Lord Mountbatten, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, killed when IRA bomb destroys his fishing boat.
- 1985 - Anglo-Irish agreement gives Dublin government consultative voice in daily running of Northern Ireland, prompting Protestant demonstrations.
- 1994 - IRA announces ceasefire in September, with Pro-British "Loyalist" guerrillas following suit. Britain holds first open meeting with Sinn Fein in more than 70 years.
- 1996 - In February, the IRA ends ceasefire, setting off a huge bomb in London's Docklands district, killing two people.
- 1997 - Britain's new Labour government ends 16-month ban on contacts with Sinn Fein and holds talks. IRA announces "unequivocal" ceasefire to start on July 20.
- 1998 - "Good Friday" peace deal follows marathon talks to end conflict and devolve rule.
- 1999 - Northern Ireland gets its own government in which Protestants and Catholics share power, after 27 years of direct rule from London.
- 2000 - Britain suspends assembly in February amid anger from Protestants.
- 2007 - In March, Protestant cleric and Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams hold their first face-to-face meeting and agree to start sharing power. A new power-sharing assembly government is launched on May 8.
Is it a welcome move? Do you think Tony Blair will be able to achieve similar results in the Middle East?
