REAL IRA AGAIN EMERGING FROM THE SHADOWS
Real IRA again emerging from the shadows
By Darwin Templeton
TWO years after the Omagh atrocity, the Real IRA and its supporters are back in the headlines.
While the ceasefire called amid the public outcry at the Omagh atrocity is still officially in place, it has long since been abandoned.
There has been a series of attacks and attempted attacks this year, mostly directed at security bases in Northern Ireland.
Only last weekend, the RUC and gardai foiled an attempt to smuggle a 500lb bomb into Londonderry on the eve of the Apprentice Boys' march.
Bombs have also been left at Army barracks in the city and nearby Ballykelly, pointing to the emergence of a unit in Derry/Donegal.
In July, the bombing of Stewartstown marked another grim milestone in Real IRA's revival, in that it was the first car bomb unleashed in a town centre since Omagh. This growing confidence had been apparent earlier in the month when the group attempted to lure the security forces into a bomb trap in south Armagh by blasting the cross-border railway line and leaving a second device nearby.
The Real IRA's power-base is still south Armagh and Co Louth, where security forces suspect most of its bomb-making is carried out.
The terrorist group is thought to have been boosted by the Provisional IRA's decision to open its arms dumps to international inspection.
And its recent operations in London have given it a new credibility among republican hardliners.
It is believed that its numbers have swollen to around 150 activists, north and south.
In particular, RIRA has been recruiting heavily in Belfast among young working-class nationalists who prefer the traditional allure of the "armed struggle" to the vagaries of the Sinn Fein political strategy.
Security forces on both sides of the border have scored many successes against the dissidents, pointing to a level of penetration of their organisation. But their efforts are hampered by the fluid nature of RIRA's personnel and the ad hoc alliances it forms with like-minded elements across the country.
By Darwin Templeton
TWO years after the Omagh atrocity, the Real IRA and its supporters are back in the headlines.
While the ceasefire called amid the public outcry at the Omagh atrocity is still officially in place, it has long since been abandoned.
There has been a series of attacks and attempted attacks this year, mostly directed at security bases in Northern Ireland.
Only last weekend, the RUC and gardai foiled an attempt to smuggle a 500lb bomb into Londonderry on the eve of the Apprentice Boys' march.
Bombs have also been left at Army barracks in the city and nearby Ballykelly, pointing to the emergence of a unit in Derry/Donegal.
In July, the bombing of Stewartstown marked another grim milestone in Real IRA's revival, in that it was the first car bomb unleashed in a town centre since Omagh. This growing confidence had been apparent earlier in the month when the group attempted to lure the security forces into a bomb trap in south Armagh by blasting the cross-border railway line and leaving a second device nearby.
The Real IRA's power-base is still south Armagh and Co Louth, where security forces suspect most of its bomb-making is carried out.
The terrorist group is thought to have been boosted by the Provisional IRA's decision to open its arms dumps to international inspection.
And its recent operations in London have given it a new credibility among republican hardliners.
It is believed that its numbers have swollen to around 150 activists, north and south.
In particular, RIRA has been recruiting heavily in Belfast among young working-class nationalists who prefer the traditional allure of the "armed struggle" to the vagaries of the Sinn Fein political strategy.
Security forces on both sides of the border have scored many successes against the dissidents, pointing to a level of penetration of their organisation. But their efforts are hampered by the fluid nature of RIRA's personnel and the ad hoc alliances it forms with like-minded elements across the country.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0752
Published Date: 15-Aug-00
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