Download or read book Principal conclusions and overall assessment of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry written by Bloody Sunday Inquiry and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The object of this Inquiry was to investigate the circumstances that led to loss of life in connection with the civil rights march in Londonderry on Sunday 30th January 1972. Thirteen civilians were killed by Army gunfire on the day, which has generally become known as Bloody Sunday. The report outlines the background to Bloody Sunday and then describes the events of the day: the civil rights march; the outbreak of rioting in William Street; early firing by the Army wounding two persons; a shot fired by a member of the Official IRA; the launch of the arrest operation by Support Company of the 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (1 PARA); and subsequent events at various locations in the Bogside. The Inquiry concludes that the soldiers of 1 PARA, in the mistaken belief that republican paramilitaries were responding in force to their arrival, reacted by losing their self-control. There was a serious and widespread loss of fire discipline among the soldiers, causing the deaths of thirteen people and injury to a similar number, none of whom was posing a threat of causing death or serious injury. Bloody Sunday strengthened the IRA, increased nationalist resentment and hostility towards the Army and exacerbated the violent conflict of the years that followed. It was a tragedy for the bereaved and wounded and a catastrophe for the people of Northern Ireland.