On august 1971 the British government agreed to introduce internment (remand without legal proceedings). At this time the situation got totally out of control. More than 300 people were arrested in raids of the army in the Catholic areas. Some of the 300 were innocent. It was rumoured that the 300 were beaten up and even tortured.
The Catholic rebels and the snipers challenged the army, and the Protestants took part in the fights by attaching the Catholic areas and the houses were put on fire. In five month 143 people were killed in the North Ireland. Territories in Belfast and Londonderry were locked behind barricades, and armed agents from IRA started patrolling in the streets.
Lots of the Catholics were horrible about the IRA agents. The Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) which was formed in 1970 supported that the Catholic wanted more rights and that they wanted a reunion with Ireland. Their attempt to revive the civil rights campaigner got tragic followings.
Bloody Sunday
On January 30 1972 Bloody Sunday was the last time there had been a major march, where thousands of ordinary people came out to the streets of Londonderry in protest. The march had been declared illegal by the authorities, but it went ahead. The authorities decided that the march was too large to try and control. When the march was coming to its end a group of 200 marchers, most of them young men broke away from the march and started to storm the British army troops. The demonstrators were throwing stones and other things at the soldiers on the barricades. The soldiers responded with water cannons.
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