Monday, January 22, 2007
Collusion between governments and death squads
It's hardly an idea which originated in Iraq. The latest revelation from a different corner of the world:
A loyalist paramilitary gang [in Northern Ireland] was involved in up to 15 murders in the 1990s while being protected by Special Branch handlers, a damning report said today.And 15 murders is hardly the extent of it:
The report pointed to "disturbing" levels of collusion between the security forces and the paramilitaries.
The gang was associated with 72 other crimes, including 10 attempted murders, 10 punishment shootings, 13 punishment attacks, a bombing in Monaghan, in the Irish republic, and 17 instances of drug dealing, as well as criminal damage, extortion and intimidation.
The Police Ombudsman's investigators also identified less significant and reliable intelligence linking the UVF men to five more murders.
