Britain ends military operations in N.Ireland after 38 years
London, July 31, IRNA (Iran)
UK Military-Northern Ireland
The British Army formally ended its longest- ever military campaign Tuesday by bringing the curtain down on its controversial operations in Northern Ireland after 38 years.
The decision, which comes after the setting up of a power-sharing government in Belfast under the 1998 Good Friday agreement, technically switches the remaining 5,000 troops in the province into a peacetime garrison, available for deployment around the world.
No ceremony was arranged to mark the event, but the British government has announced a service of remembrance will be held next year 2008 to pay tribute to the members of the Armed Forces who lost their lives in the conflict.
During the campaign, in which more than 300,000 personnel have been deployed since 1969, a total of 763 British security forces, including 444 troops, were killed. It is estimated that nearly 3,438 people died, including civilians and paramilitaries on both sides.
The troops were initially sent to ostensibly protect the minority Catholic population during civil rights clashes with the Protestant- dominated Royal Ulster Constabulary but led to the re-emergence of the IRA launching an armed struggle against British rule.
At the height of the conflict, the military deployment reached 27,000 soldiers, the equivalent of one in 60 of Northern Ireland's 1.5 million population.
It was not until the mid-1990 that Britain publicly acknowledged that the virtual civil war would not be resolved by military means alone but by an all-inclusive political settlement.
The IRA formally announced the end of its armed struggle last year but its political wing, Sinn Fein, which has emerged as the second largest party in Northern Ireland, says it remains committed in working for a reunification of Ireland.
Britain ends military operations in N.Ireland after 38 years
Author