LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Northern Ireland: Provisional Ira
built 647 days ago
Brian Faulkner, Northern Ireland's third Prime Minister in little over a year, introduced internment without trial to counteract IRA violence but his strategy backfired. The security measure was used almost exclusively against the Catholic community and within hours rioting and shooting had broken out in Belfast and spread to Derry, Strabane, Armagh and Newry. At 11.15am that morning Faulkner announced that his government was at war with the terrorists.
Source:
Despite accounting for almost thirty percent of the deaths in the Northern Ireland conflict, loyalists’ attacks have generally drawn far less media and international attention than those perpetrated by the IRA. Major loyalist attacks include:
Source:
In June 1999, the peace process stalled when the IRA refused to disarm prior to the formation of Northern Ireland's new provincial cabinet. Sinn Fein insisted that the IRA would only give up weapons after the new government assembled; the Ulster Unionists, Northern Ireland's largest Protestant party, demanded disarmament first. Consequently the new government failed to form on schedule in July 1999, bring the entire process to a complete halt.
Source:
At dawn on Monday 9 August 1971, 3,000 soldiers backed up by RUC Special Branch officers using out-of-date intelligence swooped on houses throughout Northern Ireland and arrested over 300 men. By the time the operation was complete three hours later the army had arrested many who belonged to neither the Provisional nor Official IRA. Within 48 hours 104 were released. The remainder were imprisoned at Crumlin Road Jail or on the Maidstone, a prison ship moored at Belfast docks. As the arrests continued the army had to open a disused RAF base called Long Kesh to accommodate the prisoners.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Provisional Ira