RUC fired at crowd
By Peadar Whelan
``A clear case of attempted murder'', was how Toni Carragher of the
South Armagh Farmers and Residents Committee (SAFRC) described
the actions of a trigger happy RUC man who fired off two live
rounds of ammunition during an altercation with local people last
Sunday.
The incident happened at around 6pm on the Legmoyland Road in
Silverbridge, South Armagh when six local men left Donnelly's Bar
and were confronted by a joint patrol of British marines and RUC
men.
According to witnesses the crown forces personnel hurled
sectarian verbal abuse at the local men, all aged around 20, and
at one point threatened them.
``They were shouting that they would `sort South Armagh out' and
would `take someone out before we leave', this is the type of
threatening behaviour and abuse the Marines were involved in
before they shot Fergal Caraher dead in 1990'', we were told by a
man who did not wish to be named.
According to the man the Marines then cocked their rifles and one
of the RUC men cocked his gun and fired a shot in the air.
``The second shot was fired at us, it was an aimed shot, it just
missed hitting one of us,'' said the man.
When An Phoblacht spoke to SAFRC spokesperson Toni Carragher she
discounted RUC claims that the patrol had been surrounded and
attacked and that the patrol had been airlifted to safety.
``The crowd only grew after people in Donnelly's came out to see
what was happening after they heard the shooting. They didn't
threaten the patrol. In fact the patrol moved off along the
Legmoyland Road and the only helicopter that appeared was a
Gazelle that shadowed the patrol''.
``This whole incident is outrageous,'' concluded Ms Carragher,
``when you think that the Patten Commission was in South Armagh on
Thursday. The RUC are condemned by their own actions''.
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