Two police officers survive a bomb attack in Northern Ireland’s former civil war region. British provincial police said yesterday they were investigating last night’s attack on charges of attempted murder. It was a targeted attack on the town of Strabane, right on the border with the neighboring country, the Republic of Ireland.
AP/PA/David Young
The vehicle of the two police officers was damaged. The area has been cordoned off for investigations. About 1,000 residents are affected, children have not been able to go to school. Politicians from all religious fields condemned the murder.
Vice-chairman of the Catholic-Republican Sinn Fein party and Northern Ireland’s first designated head of government, Michelle O’Neill, called the attack “reprehensible”. According to the politician, those responsible will not be able to set society back.
Hotspot of conflict in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, Catholics – most of whom want reunification with Ireland – and Protestants – mostly in favor of union with Britain – have fought for decades. In Strabane, which has about 13,000 people and is almost exclusively Catholic, there have been particularly large numbers of attacks on British soldiers and police.
The British military had a base near the city for a long time. Recently, new attack alerts have increased again. Northern Ireland is politically paralyzed by the dispute over special Brexit rules and currently has no functioning government or parliament.