Hundreds marched in memory of civilians shot by British soldiers. January 1972 is exactly 50 years since the blood Sunday.
Northern Ireland On Sunday, Londonderry commemorates one of the most shocking days in British recent history, the bloody Sunday of 1972.
Hundreds of people marched the same route as humans 50 years ago, when the day became a massacre. British soldiers then opened fire on unarmed civil rights marchers.
Thirteen of those shot were killed and 13 others wounded. One of the wounded died later. Six of the victims were minors.
Memorial plaque to the victims of Blood Sunday in Londonderry.
Some of the victims were shot in the back while lying on the ground or waving white cloths.
Blood Sunday i.e. Bloody Sunday was a major milestone in the Northern Ireland conflict.
The marchers and victims were Catholics dissatisfied with Protestant rule. Blood Sunday gave impetus to the Irish Republican Army IRA, whose membership swelled as bitter Catholic youth thirsted for revenge.
The IRA responded to the Sunday shootings by detonating dozens of bombs and killing Protestant activists and British soldiers.
In Londonderry (Irish-speaking Derry) also held a quiet moment, according to AFP, where the names of the victims were read aloud and wreaths were laid in memory of the Blood Sunday memorial.
Relatives of the victims were also present, AFP said.
“We’ve come a long way since that day of horror,” he said Michael McKinneywhose brother William was among those shot to death.
Michael McKinney reiterated the long-standing demand of relatives of Blood Sunday victims that “those criminals in uniform must be prosecuted for shooting our people into our streets”.
A mural depicting the bloody Sunday of 1972 in Londonderry.
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