Families of victims, survivors and politicians gathered on Sunday to mark the 25th anniversary of the Omagh bombing, the deadliest in the Northern Irish conflict, amid security and political tensions in the British province.
On August 15, 1998, a car bomb, planted by dissident Republicans, exploded in bustling downtown Omagh, killing 29 people and injuring 220. The bombing took place four months after the signing of the Friday Agreement Saint, supposed to put an end to three decades of violence between Unionists (mainly Protestants) and Republicans (mostly Catholics) in Northern Ireland, a conflict which has left more than 3,000 dead.
To mark the anniversary, a memorial service organized by groups of victims was held in the small town in central Northern Ireland. A private ceremony will also be held for families on Tuesday, August 15.
Perpetrated by the True IRA, a splinter group opposed to peace, during an IRA (Irish Republican Army) ceasefire, the attack rallied much public opinion to the peace agreement.
Among the victims were Catholics as well as Protestants, a pregnant woman and many young people, including two Spanish tourists. A quarter of a century later, after years of legal wrangling and investigations, no one has been convicted for the attack.
The memorial service featured traditional music played on the Irish bagpipes, hymns and prayers in English, Spanish and Irish. The names of the 29 victims were read and a moment of silence was observed in their memory.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the bombing aged 21, thanked “those we lost along the way and helped rebuild the hearts and minds of those affected by this atrocity”.
He called the memorial “a powerful testament to the spirit and cohesion of the community, 25 years after our little town was torn apart.”
Jonathan Caine, British Minister in the Ministry in charge of Northern Ireland, as well as Peter Burke, Irish Minister for Defence, took part in the commemorations in Omagh.
In February, the British government announced the opening of an independent investigation to determine whether the attack could have been avoided, after the High Court in Belfast judged this hypothesis “plausible” in 2021.
A quarter of a century after the end of the “Troubles”, Brexit has reignited tensions in the British province.
The commemorations take place while the political institutions resulting from the peace agreement have been at a standstill for a year and a half, the main unionist party (DUP) refusing to participate in the executive.
Opposed to post-Brexit trade rules which it says threaten the province’s ties with the rest of the UK, the DUP has been boycotting local institutions, believed to be shared with Sinn Fein Republicans, for more than a year. winners of the last elections in the province.
From a security point of view, a policeman was targeted in February by an attempted murder in the suburb of Omagh. Following this attack, the British government raised the level of the terrorist threat in the province.
The attempted murder of John Caldwell, a member of the police force for 26 years, had been unanimously condemned in Northern Ireland. Claimed by the group Nouvelle IRA, it recalls that the police, regularly targeted during the conflict in Northern Ireland, may still be in the crosshairs.
The last police officer assassinated by dissident Republicans, Ronan Kerr, died in Omagh in 2011 in a car bomb explosion outside his home.
08/13/2023 18:10:41 – Omagh (Royaume-Uni) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
