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The three Scottish soldiers' killings was an incident that took place in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It happened on 10 March 1971, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army shot dead three unarmed British Army soldiers of the 1st Battalion, Royal Highland Fusiliers. Two of the three were teenage brothers; all three were from Scotland. They were killed off-duty and in civilian clothes having been lured from a city-centre bar in Belfast, driven to a remote location and shot whilst relieving themselves by the roadside. Whilst three British soldiers had been killed prior to this event, all three had been on-duty and killed during rioting. The deaths led to public mourning and protests against the Provisional IRA. Pressure to act precipitated a political crisis for the government of Northern Ireland, which led to the resignation of Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark. The British Army raised the minimum age needed to serve in Northern Ireland to 18 in response to this incident. In 2010 a memorial was dedicated to the three soldiers near to where they were killed in north Belfast. ==Events== British troops had been deployed to Northern Ireland in 1969 for Operation Banner in response to a deteriorating security situation following the 1969 Northern Ireland riots. The British Army had become involved in the disturbances culminating in the Falls Curfew of July 1970. The Provisional Irish Republican Army was created in December 1969 after a split from the Official Irish Republican Army. After the split, the Provisional IRA planned for an "all-out offensive action against the British occupation". Provisional IRA Chief of Staff Seán Mac Stíofáin decided they would "escalate, escalate and escalate" until the British agreed to go. The IRA Army Council sanctioned offensive operations against the British Army at the beginning of 1971. In this year, Robert Curtis was the first British soldier shot and killed by the Provisional IRA, on 6 February 1971, and two more soldiers were killed prior to 10 March. Brothers John and Joseph McCaig from Ayr and Dougald McCaughey from Glasgow in Scotland (ages 17, 18 and 23) were privates serving with the 1st Battalion, The Royal Highland Fusiliers, stationed at Girdwood barracks in Belfast. The shootings occurred on 10 March 1971 after the three soldiers had been granted an afternoon pass which allowed them to leave their base. McCaughey's younger brother was serving in the same unit but was on duty and unable to join them. The three soldiers were off-duty, unarmed and in civilian clothes. They were drinking in "Mooney's", a Belfast city centre bar in Cornmarket, one of the safer areas of the city for soldiers at this stage in "the Troubles". The three previous shootings that year had occurred in different circumstances, during rioting. One report said that the three Scottish soldiers were enticed into a car by Republican women who promised them a party.〔 The three were taken to the White Brae, Squire's Hill, off the Ligoniel Road in North Belfast. There they were murdered by Provisional IRA members; two were shot in the back of the head and the other in the chest.〔 〕 The inquest in August 1971 was not able to establish the exact sequence of events. It was established that all three were shot at very close range, probably in a line. All had been drinking, and Joseph was found to be severely intoxicated. The jury was told that the three were probably shot whilst relieving themselves beside the road. The coroner commented: "You may think that this was not only murder, but one of the vilest crimes ever heard of in living memory".〔 The bodies were heaped on top of each other with two beer glasses lying near to them. After failing to return to their barracks by 18:30 the three were listed as AWOL. Their bodies were found by children at 21:30.〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1971 Scottish soldiers' killings」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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