The curfew began at about 4.30am last Tuesday morning when over 1,000 RUC, RIR and British Army personnel moved in and sealed the area off. At one point over 25 RUC and British army jeeps were sitting in the car park of the local community centre at Lurgantarry which they seemed to be using as a staging post. In the saturation operation the gardens and backs as well as outhouses in the 400 house estate were searched. Crown Forces harassed and abused locals constantly.
This state of siege was to last until around tea time on Thursday evening, The RUC attempted to justify their anti-nationalist operation saying they had been attacked in the area. A rocket had been launched against an RUC patrol on Thursday 6 February and during the massive search a rifle, pistols and a rocket launcher were found. However none of this was found in any of the 12 houses raided, two of which were badly damaged. One is said to be no longer inhabitable. Of the six people arrested none was charged. All have made complaints about their treatment while in Gough barracks.
Malachy Toman, the brother of Volunteer Eugene Toman, who was killed in an RUC shoot - to - kill operation in 1982, also had his home raided. Toman left home to bury his father Edward who died on Sunday morning; as he was going to the funeral the RUC were sledge-hammering their way through his front door and invading his home. When Toman arrived home after the funeral and complained about the raid he was informed by the RUC, ``we can do what we want''.
500 extra British troops were brought in especially for the Lurgan operation.
Paul Gillespie was set upon by an RIR man last Thursday 13, he was stopped by two British soldiers. ``An RIR man came from nowhere, I was complying with the search and he ordered me to empty my pockets. I put my hands in to take out my keys and money when he headbutted me''. Gillespie said the RIR man tried to hit him again he grabbed him in an effort to defend himself. ``Then one of the Brits kicked me on the back of the knee and I went down, pulling the RIR man with me''. He was taken under military arrest to Lurgan RUC barracks. He was later released without charge. ``A Brit who was in charge stopped the assault because a crowd had gathered and he was afraid the situation would get out of hand,''
It was the role of the sectarian RIR that holds the most sinister dimension to last week's raids as they threatened nationalists and warned they would give their details to loyalist gangs.
From An Phoblacht(Republican News)June 2001
Posted on Jun 27, 2001, 8:33 PM from IP address 62.7.61.242