Bloody civil war

Northern Ireland asks its people for forgiveness

The Northern Irish civil war claimed thousands of lives.

(Bild: AFP)

Northern Ireland's head of government Michelle O'Neill has apologized to the relatives of those killed in the Northern Irish civil war ("Troubles"). "I am sorry for every single life lost, and there is no exception," said the politician from the Catholic Republican party Sinn Fein in Belfast on Friday.

O'Neill added that neither the supporters of Irish unity nor any of the other sides in the conflict could escape responsibility for the suffering, pain and political violence. She now represents a new generation that has moved on from the conflict, O'Neill said. The head of government also called on the British government in London to apologize.

Thousands killed
In the conflict, predominantly Catholic supporters of a union 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 end of the 1960s until peace was concluded in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

The Northern Irish head of government Michelle O'Neill

(Bild: AFP)

Sinn Fein was long regarded as the political arm of the militant organization IRA, which used armed force 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 since disbanded. However, various splinter groups continue to carry out attacks.

An informer who killed
The background to O'Neill's apology was the presentation on Friday of the preliminary report of a police investigation into an informant of the British security authorities in the IRA. The informant, code-named "Stakeknife", is linked to at least 14 murders.

According to the preliminary findings 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. According to the spokesperson, the government wanted to wait for the final version of the report.