Irish Republican News · September 14, 2023

Derry riots as PSNI seek to assert control

A series of PSNI raids in Derry on some of the warmest nights of the year produced the inevitable result for a force desperate to deflect attention from its own internal crises.

Checkpoints consisting of armoured vehicles and the notorious Tactical Support Groups [TSG] sealed off targeted area in the Creggan as drones and plain-clothed agents circulated ahead of the raids. British Army vehicles were also seen to provide support.

The PSNI said sixteen of its militarised units were injured as they swamped the areas before local youths fought back. Over two days, nationalist residents threw petrol bombs, stones and other missiles as part of a spontaneous community resistance.

The PSNI came under further attack in the Rosemount area on Friday evening as a raiding unit again came under attack from youths throwing stones and petrol bombs.

It later presented to the media a collection of damp and rusting weapons it claimed to have recovered, and dramatically claimed that two of the alleged devices had been ‘stolen from the Russian front’.

Republicans believed the operation was politically timed. The Irish Republican Socialist Party described it as “nothing but an organised assault on the people of Derry with the aim to break our working class communities. It is of no doubt this attack happened at yet another time of PSNI crisis to deflect.”

Saoradh said it was an attempt to generate a riot.

“This is all under the guise of ‘Keeping the community safe’ but the reality is the Crown Forces are intent on causing as much strife and disruption in this area as possible,” they said.

“We are not surprised to see the young people of the area resisting the British forces of occupation. Before the politicians run to the cameras to condemn the youth they must understand that the Crown Forces knew fine well that this is the reaction and response they would get.”

One of the areas invaded was Glenfada Park, near the spot where civil rights protestors were massacred in 1972. “The irony of this won’t be lost on the local community,” they concluded.

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