copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Projections from the Department of Infrastructure indicate that 38% of all properties in Northern Ireland will be at risk of flooding by 2080. (Belfast Telegraph, 2023-09-04)
Evidence (2024-01-31): Flooding is the most pervasive among natural disasters, yet its costs are routinely underestimated. As climate change, economic and demographic trends, and a chronic lack of investments in resilience combine to drive risk higher, it is time to rethink our approach to flood risk.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2019-11-28): Statistics about killings during the Troubles suggest that 87% of killings were perpetrated by paramilitary groupings, with the figure falling to 85% if evidence to date about collusion is taken into account. However, classifications of responsibility will continue to change as further evidence comes to light.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2022-02-26): Statistics about killings during the Troubles suggest that 87% of killings were perpetrated by paramilitary groupings, with the figure falling to 85% if evidence to date about collusion is taken into account. However, classifications of responsibility will continue to change as further evidence comes to light. In their 2019 Westminster election manifesto, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) claimed the following in section 11, entitled "Resisting Attempts to Rewrite the Past": "Ninety percent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries yet the balance of investigations is disproportionately against former police officers and soldiers." This article investigates the primary claim of the percentages of those who died during the Troubles, using the available data from 14 July 1969 to 31 December 2001. [...] There were a total of 3,532 deaths recorded during the period referred to as the Troubles. The claim that 90% of the killings were perpetrated by paramilitaries is rounded up from 87.2% (using the Sutton Index as a source of classification) and is imprecise as it does not take into consideration those killings by Irish forces, killings which were perpetrated by "unknown" groups, and killings in which collusion has subsequently been identified. A more accurate, rounded figure for paramilitary deaths is 85%; however, this figure may change if further evidence about collusion or misidentification comes to light.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2021-12-06): Killings by Military and Paramilitary Groups (1969-2001) [...] Note: * Excludes one IRA member who is included in Republican Paramilitary Personnel killed by British Forces; ** Of these, 15 were involved in robberies and15 were travelling in stolen cars. [...] A further 79 people have been killed. This figure includes 12 Republican prisoners who have died while on hunger strike, 2 in Britain in 1974 and 1976, and 10 in Northern Ireland during 1981. It is impossible to attribute a killing to any particular military group in 24 cases, were the death occurred during street disturbances, or a political/military incident. This leaves 43 killings for which it is not possible with the information available to identify the responsible group.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2020-07-21): The then prime minister ascribed the vast majority of Troubles murders to the IRA, he said. "I thought: ‘That’s not right, it’s nowhere near that.’ It just stuck in my mind at the time." His subsequent research – and work by other scholars – attributed about half of all the Troubles’ deaths to the Provisional IRA. [...] And so, in 1984, he began a remarkable solo effort to document every death in the Troubles – every victim’s name, age and status, who killed them, where, and how. Sutton filled gaping holes in official statistics by gathering facts about one killing, then another, and another, the task stretching backwards and forwards in time, spanning decades, an epic chronicle of more than 3,500 lives lost. [...] Sutton’s index stops at 2001, several years after republican and loyalist groups renounced violence. It records a total of 3,532 deaths – children, mothers, soldiers, police, paramilitaries, tourists, farmers, teachers, politicians, milkmen, on and on. The result is a monolith of unassailable facts: a record of lives extinguished that stands impervious to revisionist winds, to efforts by republicans, unionists and others to shape their own narrative of the Troubles.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2024-07-19): During the Troubles, paramilitary groups, or groups outside of legitimate armed forces, came to power, causing chaos and hysteria in communities and worsening sectarian division. These paramilitary groups used guerilla warfare tactics, like raiding, bombing, and ambushing, to incite fear and intimidate the police or political authorities. In Northern Ireland, paramilitary groups included, but were not limited to, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defense Association (UDA), which supported loyalist ideas, and the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which promoted republican ideology. Though the IRA had been around for years, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provos), a separate branch formed at the start of the Troubles, focused its work on the republican cause in the North.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2024-07-04): During the Troubles, the 1970s were, by far, the deadliest years of the conflict. Over 2,000 of the more than 3,500 people killed during the Troubles died in the 1970s, with 480 deaths (over 13 percent of the total) coming in 1972 alone. The heavy casualties and violence of the Troubles' early years saw both sides lose some support within their respective communities by the late 1970s, at which point there was something of a de-escalation of attacks, although death tolls were steady at around 100 deaths per year until the IRA ceasefire in 1994. Roughly double the number of deaths have been attributed to republican paramilitaries in comparison to loyalist paramilitaries, although there were some periods in the 1970s and 1990s where both sides had comparable figures. The spike in killings in 1998, the year of the Good Friday Agreement, was due to the Omagh bombing, which resulted in the deaths of 29 people. [...] University of Ulster. "Total Number of Deaths per Year during The Troubles (The Northern Ireland Conflict) from 1969 to 2001, by Organization Responsible." Statista, Statista Inc., 25 Jul 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1401859/ni-troubles-killings-year-organization/ [...] Total number of deaths per year during the Troubles (the Northern Ireland Conflict) from 1969 to 2001, by organization responsible [Graph], University of Ulster, July 25, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1401859/ni-troubles-killings-year-organization/
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2024-09-29): The Troubles were a period of conflict in Northern Ireland involving republican and loyalist paramilitaries, the British security forces and civilians. They are usually dated from the late 1960s to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.[1][2][3][4] However, sporadic violence has occurred since that time, with those involved often being referred to as "dissident republicans and loyalists". The Troubles, sometimes known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, claimed roughly 3500 lives. Prior to 1960 [edit]Since partition, the IRA had started a number of operations in Northern Ireland designed at bringing about their goal of a United Ireland. The intensity of this activity increased towards the end of 1941, where the IRA decided to step up its campaign of attacks in Northern Ireland.[5] In response to this activity the Unionist authorities under John Miller Andrews introduced internment and using provisions of the Emergency Powers Act, instituted increasingly restrictive policies in Northern Ireland. This pattern of paramilitary violence, followed by increasingly restrictive measures on the behalf of the authorities came to define the run-up to the Troubles. [...] - ^ See Nelson, Sarah. "Ulster's Uncertain Defenders: Protestant Political Paramilitary and Community Groups and the Northern Ireland Conflict", p. 61, Belfast: Appletree Press, 1984.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2022-05-25): Ninety Per Cent of War-Time Casualties Are Civilians, Speakers Stress, Pressing Security Council to Fulfil Responsibility, Protect Innocent People in Conflicts With civilians accounting for nearly 90 per cent of war-time casualties and humanitarians threatened with arrest for providing aid to "the enemy", the Security Council simply must do more to ensure the protection of innocent people caught amid the conflicts raging around the world, experts from the field told the 15-nation organ today, as over 70 delegates denounced its inaction and explored ways to stanch the suffering during the all-day debate. [...] RAMESH RAJASINGHAM, Director of Coordination of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the Secretary-General’s report (document S/2022/381) outlines the grim reality that civilians bear the brunt of suffering in armed conflict. Conflict continued to cause widespread civilian death last year, notably in densely populated areas, where civilians accounted for 90 per cent of the casualties when explosive weapons were used, compared to 10 per cent in other areas.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2018-04-09): - 60% were civilians who were not members of paramilitary organisations, 33% were members of republican paramilitary groups, 3% were involved in loyalist paramilitarism and 4% were members of the RUC. [...] - 55% were killed by state forces, 28% were killed by loyalists and 17% were killed by republicans. [...] "We are also investigating police actions in relation to murders by republican paramilitaries, including the murder of police officers.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2023-04-06): The conflict was fought on political and national grounds, encompassing ethnic and sectarian dimensions. According to CAIN at Ulster University, 3,568 people died during The Troubles from 1969 to 2010. 1,879 were civilian and 1,117 were members of the British security forces. A further 300 were republican paramilitaries, 162 were loyalist paramilitaries and 11 were Irish security.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2014-01-31): Figure 10.4 shows the distribution of the 2,056 killings by republican paramilitaries during the Troubles. The map is based around the locations from the Sutton database but a technique called density smoothing has been used to simplify the pattern and make it more understandable cartographically. Density smoothing blurs the pattern slightly but is useful in identifying clusters where many events occurred near to each other. The map shows a distinct geography. The largest number of republican killings took place in Belfast and Londonderry/Derry. A more dispersed but highly significant cluster is found in South Armagh and Newry. Of the more localised clusters, some such as Omagh in the west of Tyrone and Ballykelly northeast of Londonderry/Derry are largely based on a single incident that led to large numbers of casualties. Others, such as Armagh City, Lurgan and Portadown, are based on larger numbers of incidents each with fewer casualties. [...] Figures 10.10 and 10.11 respectively show the deaths of republican paramilitaries and Catholic civilians killed by the security forces who, between them, represent 85 percent of their victims. Apart from the clusters in Belfast, Londonderry/Derry and Strabane, the pattern of killings is quite dispersed although County Londonderry and Antrim, away from the two urban centres, had very low levels of these deaths. Killings of republicans were more concentrated in Armagh, both north and south, and east Tyrone, as well as the three urban areas described above. Security force killings of Protestant civilians and loyalist paramilitaries have not been mapped because of their low numbers.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2019-08-11): Republican paramilitaries were responsible for almost 60 per cent of all deaths during the Troubles and as such the republican community could well be seen as an oppressive minority who maintained the conflict longer than was necessary, according to leading academic. Prof Liam Kennedy of the Centre for Economic History at Queen's University Belfast said that his analysis of the figures compiled by David McKittrick in his book Lost Lives on those who died in the Troubles between 1966 and 1999 showed republican paramilitaries were responsible for over half. According to Prof Kennedy, there were 2,636 Troubles related deaths during that period and republican paramilitaries accounted for some 59 per cent with the Provisional IRA accounting for almost half – 49 per cent – of all these deaths.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2024-10-08): The main participants in the Troubles were republican paramilitaries such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA); loyalist paramilitaries such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA); British state security forces such as the British Army and RUC; and political activists. The security forces of the Republic of Ireland played a smaller role. Republicans carried out a guerrilla campaign against British forces as well as a bombing campaign against infrastructural, commercial, and political targets. Loyalists attacked republicans/nationalists and the wider Catholic community in what they described as retaliation. At times, there were bouts of sectarian tit-for-tat violence, as well as feuds within and between paramilitary groups. The British security forces undertook policing and counterinsurgency, primarily against republicans. There were incidents of collusion between British state forces and loyalist paramilitaries (see Stevens Inquiries). The Troubles also involved numerous riots, mass protests, and acts of civil disobedience, and led to increased segregation and the creation of temporary no-go areas. [...] Republican paramilitaries were responsible for some 60% of all deaths, loyalists 30% and British security forces 10%.[39] [...] Of those killed by republican paramilitaries:[299]
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2024-08-09): During the Troubles, the 1970s were, by far, the deadliest years of the conflict. Over 2,000 of the more than 3,500 people killed during the Troubles died in the 1970s, with 480 deaths (over 13 percent of the total) coming in 1972 alone. The death toll fell from the mid-1970s onward as paramilitaries began losing the support of some of their local communities, and tactics changed to favor bombings and guerilla tactics over more direct engagements. Over 3,000 of the killings during the troubles have been attributed to paramilitary groups, with the IRA responsible for over half of these. [...] University of Ulster. "Total Number of Deaths per Year during The Troubles (The Northern Ireland Conflict) from 1969 to 2001." Statista, Statista Inc., 25 Jul 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1401907/ni-troubles-deaths-annual/ [...] Total number of deaths per year during the Troubles (the Northern Ireland Conflict) from 1969 to 2001 [Graph], University of Ulster, July 25, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1401907/ni-troubles-deaths-annual/
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2024-07-04): During the Troubles, over half of those killed in the conflict (approximately 52 percent of all 3,532 victims) were civilians, while almost one third were British security forces, such as the British Army, the RUC (the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Northern Ireland's former police force), or prison officers. Republican and loyalist paramilitary groups made up just 11 and five percent of all deaths respectively, despite being responsible for over 3,000 deaths combined - however, it should be noted that many paramilitary members' deaths would have been classified as civilian deaths due to the nature of the conflict. [...] University of Ulster. "Total Number of Deaths during The Troubles (The Northern Ireland Conflict) from 1969 to 2001, by Status or Affiliation." Statista, Statista Inc., 25 Jul 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1401697/ni-troubles-deaths-affiliation/ [...] Total number of deaths during the Troubles (the Northern Ireland Conflict) from 1969 to 2001, by status or affiliation [Graph], University of Ulster, July 25, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1401697/ni-troubles-deaths-affiliation/
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2010-01-28): Paramilitary groups such as the UDA and the UVF killed more than 900 people over the course of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. [...] Some 400 republican paramilitaries died, most of them members of the IRA, and almost 170 loyalist paramilitaries. A significant number of paramilitaries were killed by their own organisations as alleged informers, in premature explosions and by rival groups during feuds. [...] Throughout the Troubles people were killed where they socialised, lived and worked. They were killed at sports events, in hospitals, in prison, leaving churches and even inside places of worship. The violence of the Troubles continues to impact upon communities. Beyond the dead it is estimated some 50,000 people were wounded. Tens of thousands served in the security forces, joined the paramilitaries and went to prison. More witnessed the horror of violent death.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2019-10-05): On January 30th, 1973, Philip was on his way home when he was abducted from the street by loyalist paramilitaries. He was taken to the Giant’s Ring, outside Belfast, where they hooded him with his coat, beat him, and then shot him several times. The night before, the same UDA gang had shot and killed another teenager, Peter Watterson, who was standing outside his mother’s newsagents on the nearby Falls Road. Philip and Peter were among a number of victims of sectarian murders of Catholic children carried out by loyalists at that time. [...] Of the children killed during the course of the Troubles, 80 per cent were Catholic. Twenty-nine per cent of deaths took place in west Belfast, and 24 per cent in north Belfast. Together they represent 95 fatalities, more than half of the children killed as a result of the Troubles. Two-thirds of children’s deaths took place in Belfast and Derry.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2024-04-17): During the three decades of the Troubles, 3,720 people were killed and 47,541 were injured as a result of the conflict. Over half of all deaths (54%) were civilians and 41% of deaths were people under the age of 25. (Source: Ulster University fact sheet.) The stories of the men, women and children who lost their lives as a result of the Troubles are recounted in the extraordinary book ‘Lost Lives’. First published in 1999 – a year after the Good Friday agreement was signed – it serves as an example of how casualty recording highlights the human impact of armed conflict; transforming anonymous numbers into real people’s lives. The book chronologically documents the circumstances of every violent death resulting from the Troubles, memorialising and naming each of the individuals.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2010-01-28): Paramilitary groups were active on both sides of Northern Ireland's political divide, including the IRA, the UDA, the UVF and the INLA. Since the peace process began, several paramilitary splinter groups have continued to operate. [...] At the outset there are two popular misconceptions about the paramilitaries that should be challenged. First, that all were all mindless thugs devoid of any political motivation who got their kicks from killing. This was seldom the case - although there were exceptions. Many were driven to join their respective "struggles" as a result of what they had witnessed or suffered - be it Bloody Sunday or Bloody Friday. The likelihood is that had these young men and women lived in any other part of the United Kingdom, most would never have become involved in violence. [...] The main paramilitary group on the republican side is the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Its roots go back to the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin and the war of independence that led to the partition of Ireland.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2005-04-22): Loyalist paramilitary groups, including the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), intent on keeping the region part of the United Kingdom, also stepped up their campaign of sectarian violence. [...] While the process of normalisation continued, sectarian violence and paramilitary crimes still occurred. The main threat was from paramilitary splinter groups like the Real IRA who carried out the Omagh bombing in August 1998, killing 29 people. This was the worst atrocity of the 'Troubles'. [...] Around 1,400 British military personnel died during the deployment. Of these, half were killed by paramilitaries and half died from other causes. The RUC lost 319 officers to terrorist violence.
Claim: Ninety per cent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries. (Democratic Unionist Party, 2019-11-28)
Evidence (2015-12-01): The 1980s: Paramilitary flourishing [...] M-19, who had stormed the Palace of Justice in 1985 in an attack where 11 Supreme Court Justices and 90 civilians were killed, signed a peace agreement in 1989 and laid down their arms. [...] The cocaine trade reinforced the social problems. Violence and corruption intensified the political tensions, creating economic imbalance and more displaced people in the country. It also paved the way for alliances that had bloody consequences. The paramilitary groups were not only employed by the mafia. The big landowners and parts of the military apparatus came to ask for their services.