Increasing tensions led to the August 1969 riots and the deployment of British troops, in what became the British Army's longest operation. The campaign was also violently opposed by Ulster loyalists, who believed it was a republican front. The police, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), were overwhelmingly Protestant and known for sectarianism and police brutality. The government attempted to suppress the protests. The conflict began during a campaign by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association to end discrimination against the Catholic/nationalist minority by the Protestant/unionist government and local authorities. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. A key issue was the status of Northern Ireland. It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension but despite use of the terms ' Protestant' and ' Catholic' to refer to the two sides, it was not a religious conflict. The conflict was primarily political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe. The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an ' irregular war' or ' low-level war'. The Troubles ( Irish: Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. See also: The Troubles in Ireland See also: The Troubles in Britain and Europe UDA/UFF = Ulster Defence Association / Ulster Freedom Fighters IPLO = Irish People's Liberation Organisation William 'Frenchie' Marchant killed by PIRA.Paddy Wilson & Irene Andrews killed by UDA/UFF.Carlton Tower and Portman Hotel shootings.

Armed conflict casualties statistics