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The 1991 Cappagh killings was a gun attack by the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) on 3 March 1991 in the village of Cappagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. A unit of the UVF's Mid-Ulster Brigade drove to the staunchly republican village and shot dead three Provisional IRA volunteers and a Catholic civilian at Boyle's Bar. Although nobody was ever charged in connection with the killings, it was widely believed by nationalists and much of the press that the attack had been planned and led by Billy Wright, the leader of the Mid-Ulster Brigade's Portadown unit. Wright himself took credit for this and boasted to the ''Guardian'' newspaper, "I would look back and say Cappagh was probably our best". There were allegations of collusion between the UVF and the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) in the shootings. ==The shootings== On the evening of Sunday 3 March 1991, a unit of the Ulster Volunteer Force's Mid-Ulster Brigade drove into the heartland of the East Tyrone IRA, intent on wiping out an entire IRA unit that was based in the County Tyrone village of Cappagh.〔Cusack, Jim & McDonald, Henry (1997). ''UVF''. Dublin: Poolbeg. p.270〕 One team of the UVF men waited outside Boyle's Bar, whilst a second team waited on the outskirts of the town.〔Jim Cusack & Henry McDonald, ''UVF'', Poolbeg, 1997, p. 270〕 At 10.30 p.m. when a car pulled-up in the carpark outside the bar, and the three occupants got out, the gunmen opened fire, killing Provisional IRA volunteers John Quinn (23), Dwayne O'Donnell (17) and Malcolm Nugent (20). The victims and car were riddled with bullets.〔 Thomas G. Mitchell stated in his book, ''Native vs. Settler: ethnic conflict in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa, that the dead men were part of an IRA Active Service Unit (ASU).〔 The gunmen then entered the pub and shot dead Catholic civilian Thomas Armstrong (50). A 21-year-old man was badly wounded.〔("Protestant group admits killing 4" ), ''New York Times'' (5 March 1991)〕 Their intended target, ASU commander Brian Arthurs, escaped with his life by crouching behind the bar during the shooting.〔〔Mitchell, Thomas G. (2000). ''Native vs. Settler: ethnic conflict in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p.188〕 According to the ''Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN)'', the three IRA volunteers had only chosen to go to the pub "on the spur of the moment", thus they were unlikely to have been the UVF's original target.〔(Chronology of the Conflict: March 1991 ), ''Conflict Archive on the Internet''〕 After the attack, the UVF issued a statement: "This was not a sectarian attack on the Catholic community, but was an operation directed at the very roots of the Provisional I.R.A. command structure in the Armagh–Tyrone area".〔 The statement concluded with the promise that "if the Provisional IRA were to cease its campaign of terror, the Ulster Volunteer Force would no longer deem it necessary to continue with their military operations".〔 Privately the UVF were hugely pleased with the attack in a republican heartland and a senior figure within the Mid-Ulster Brigade told Jim Cusack and Henry McDonald the killings were "one of the best things we did militarily in thirty years. We proved we could take the war to the Provos in one of their strongest areas".〔Cusack & McDonald, ''UVF'', pp. 270-271〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1991 Cappagh killings」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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