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The
Human Consequences of Armed Conflict
by Marie Smyth
Responsibility for deaths
Table 9.6 shows that paramilitary organisations were responsible for 80
per cent of all deaths and more than half of all deaths was the responsibility
of republican paramilitaries. For each of their members who died, republican
paramilitaries killed five and a half other individuals, whereas loyalist
paramilitaries killed eight and a half people for each of their members
who was killed. The figure for the British Army was just over half a person
and for the RUC just less than a sixth of a person.
Table 9.7 Deaths by religion by organisation responsible
| Organisation
responsible |
Don't
know |
%
|
Protestant
|
%
|
Catholic
|
%
|
Nni |
% |
| Republican
paramilitaries |
278 |
83.5 |
745 |
70.0 |
381
|
24.7
|
597
|
91.4
|
| Loyalist
paramilitaries |
25
|
7.5
|
207 |
19.5
|
735
|
47.6
|
16
|
2.5 |
| British
Army |
4
|
1.2 |
32
|
3.0 |
266 |
17.2
|
16
|
2.5
|
| UDR
|
|
|
4
|
0.4
|
7
|
0.5
|
|
|
| RUC
|
1 |
0.3 |
7 |
0.7 |
43
|
2.8 |
2 |
0.3
|
| Civilian |
|
|
9 |
0.8
|
2
|
0.1
|
|
|
| Other |
25
|
7.5
|
60
|
5.6 |
109 |
7.1 |
22
|
3.4 |
| |
333
|
100.0
|
1064 |
100.0
|
1543 |
100.0
|
653 |
100.0
|
Notes
NNI = Non Northern Ireland
The categories of 'republican' and 'loyalist' paramilitaries each cover
a number of different organisations. Within the republican grouping, the
IRA, (formerly the Provisional IRA) was responsible for the greatest number
of deaths (1684 or 85 per cent of those attributed to republican paramilitaries).
Other republican organisations killed substantially fewer people, with
the factions associated with the INLA killing 127 people. Due to limitations
in the data, it was not possible to accurately attribute the deaths due
to loyalist paramilitaries to the various loyalist organisations, so 449
deaths were simply attributed overall to loyalist organisations. Of these,
254 were attributable to the UVF and 177 to the UFF.
The conflict in Northern Ireland has given rise to much political rhetoric
about defence of and opposition to the presence of the British State,
and to perceptions about where the greatest threat to a community lies.
Table 9.7 breaks down the deaths by religion according to organisation
responsible.
Table 9.7 tends to support the perceptions of each of the two communities
as to who constitutes the greatest threat to them. The largest share of
Protestant deaths has been caused by republican organisations, which are
responsible for 70 per cent of total Protestant deaths. If the 'not known'
category is treated as before (that is 92 per cent are regarded as Protestant)
then republican paramilitaries have been responsible for over 80 per cent
of all Protestant deaths in the troubles. Conversely, almost half of Catholic
deaths are due to loyalist paramilitary activity, and over a fifth of
Catholic deaths are due to security force activity, with the British Army
having played the most significant role.
The size of threat posed by paramilitaries to their own community is clarified
in table 9.7. Nearly a fifth of Protestant deaths are the responsibility
of loyalist paramilitaries and over a quarter of all Catholics who died
were killed by republican paramilitaries. This latter figure is partially
due to the republican bombing campaign, during which city centre bombs
caused random civilian casualties. The paramilitaries that claim to defend
each community have in fact been a significant source of deaths within
their own communities. Furthermore, republican paramilitaries have been
the most significant cause of deaths of other republicans with feuds,
with the execution of informers providing the rationale. The British Army
has been responsible for just over 30 per cent of deaths among republican
paramilitaries, whilst republican paramilitaries themselves have been
responsible for almost all the deaths of security forces (1070). Overall,
for every organisation responsible for deaths in the troubles, the biggest
single category of victim has been civilians.
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