Northern Irish Civil War
Northern Ireland conflict: O’Neill apologizes for deaths
Nationalist Michelle O’Neill from the Sinn Féin party has led the Northern Irish government as First Minister since February. (archive image) photo
© Liam Mcburney/PA Wire/dpa
A new report is set to reveal murders committed by a British undercover agent. The new head of government in Belfast is taking this as an opportunity to open a new chapter – and is also calling on London to do the same.
She now represents a new generation that has left the conflict behind, said 47-year-old O’Neill. The head of government also called on the British government in London to apologize.
In the conflict, predominantly Catholic supporters of a unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland fought against mostly Protestant supporters of the union with Great Britain, the police and the British military. Several thousand people died. The civil war lasted from the late 1960s until peace was reached in the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Sinn Fein was long seen as the political arm of the militant organization IRA, which used armed forces to fight for Northern Ireland’s separation from the United Kingdom. The IRA did not shy away from torture, murder and terrorist attacks. It has now broken up. However, various splinter groups repeatedly carry out attacks.
New report on murders by British undercover agents
The background to O’Neill’s apology was the presentation of the preliminary report of a police investigation into an undercover agent for the British security authorities in the IRA. The informant, codenamed “Stakeknife,” is linked to at least 14 murders.
According to the preliminary results of the seven-year investigation, murders and kidnappings by an IRA unit led by “Stakeknife” could have been prevented, but the informant was considered too valuable. However, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak initially rejected calls for an apology. The government wants to wait for the final version of the report, said the spokeswoman.