POLICE investigating the actions of a military unit alleged to have shot unarmed civilians in the North of Ireland in the 1970s have appealed for information into a number of shootings, including two fatal incidents.
The investigation is being carried out in relation to the activities of the Military Reaction Force (MRF), a British army unit that operated in Belfast.
Detectives from the PSNI’s Legacy Investigation Branch are appealing for information concerning 18 incidents that took place between April and September 1972.
In total, 17 people were injured, including two fatalities.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Montgomery, from Legacy Investigation Branch, explained: “We know these events took place a long time ago and we know they took place during one of the worst years of the Troubles when many shootings occurred but we believe there are people out there who can help us progress this investigation and we are appealing to them to contact us.”
Two years ago, a BBC documentary reported that the British army ran an undercover unit that operated an authorised ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy during the Troubles in Belfast.
Members of the Military Reaction Force (MRF) told BBC Panorama programme’s, Britain’s Secret Terror Force that they targeted an unspecified number of IRA members regardless of whether or not they were armed.
Several former members of the force were interviewed by reporter John Ware about their involvement in the unit, which was commanded at brigadier level.
“We were not there to act like an army unit, we were there to act like a terror group,” said one former soldier.
“We were there in a position to go after the IRA and kill them when we found them.”
The 40 members of the unit were specifically chosen from within the British army who operated in west Belfast between 1971 and 1973.
It is not known exactly how many people were shot by the MRF; all of the MRF’s records were destroyed.
The documentary referenced the killing of Patrick McVeigh (pictured), a father of six children and a member of the Catholic Ex-Servicemen’s Club.
The soldiers told Panorama they agreed to be interviewed because they believe their role in the fight against the IRA has not been acknowledged.
The incidents currently under investigation by the PSNI are:
- The fatal shooting of 44-year-old Patrick McVeigh and shootings of four other men, aged 18, 25, 26 and 41, in the Riverdale Park area of West Belfast on 12 May, 1972
- The fatal shooting of 18-year-old Daniel Rooney and shooting of a 18 year old man in the St James Crescent area of West Belfast on 26 September, 1972
- The shooting of 2 brothers, aged 19 and 30, in the Whiterock Road area of West Belfast, at approximately 8am on 15 April, 1972
- The shooting of an 18-year-old man in the Glen Road area of West Belfast at approximately 9pm on 6 May, 1972
- The shooting of a 15-year-old boy outside a disco at Oliver Plunkett School, Glen Road, Belfast, at approximately 11:50pm on 7 May, 1972
- The shooting of an 18-year-old man in the Slievegallion area of West Belfast at approximately 11:30pm on 12 May, 1972
- The shooting at a 34-year-old man in the Silvio Street area of North Belfast at approximately 12:20pm on 26 May, 1972
- The shooting of four men, aged 18, 19, 21 and 28, in the Glen Road area of West Belfast, at approximately 12 midday, on 22 June, 1972
- An incident during which a white Austin Morris vehicle, VRM COI8368, was shot at by a male who got out of what is believed to have been a stalled vehicle in the Kashmir Road area of West Belfast at approximately 2pm on 9 May, 1972
If you have any information regarding these incidents please contact us on 028 92589128, or email us on [email protected]
