1992 Coalisland riots The 1992 Coalisland riots were a series of clashes on 12 and 17 May 1992 between local nationalist civilians and British Army soldiers ( of the Third Battalion of the Parachute Regiment and the King ' s Own Scottish Borderers ) in the town of Coalisland , County Tyrone , Northern Ireland . The Third Battalion 1992 tour ' s codename was " Operation Gypsy " . Provisional IRA attack . On 12 May 1992 , a unit of the Provisional Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) East Tyrone Brigade launched a bomb attack on a British Army patrol near the republican stronghold of Cappagh , County Tyrone . One soldier of the Parachute Regiment , Alistair Hogdson , lost both legs as a result . The landmine was described in an IRA statement as an " anti - personnel device " . This incident triggered a rampage by members of the Parachute Regiment in the nearby , predominantly nationalist town of Coalisland , some ten miles to the east . The IRA attack has been described as a " provocation " tactic , devised to produce a troops over - reaction and made them unpopular among local residents . The deployment of the paratroopers , which began in April had already been criticised by republican activist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey , who denounced the rising number of beatings , shootings and damages to property carried out by these troops . These previous incidents included the destruction of fishing boats and equipments in the townland of Kinturk , near Ardboe . In McAliskey words the regiment " appears to be intent on leaving their North of Ireland tour of duty with a Coalisland corpse under their belts . Over the past weeks , the paratroopers have made it perfectly clear to the citizens of this town that they intend to kill before they go . " Ken Maginnis , then - Member of Parliament for the area , called for the withdrawal of the regiment , after receiving a large number of complaints about their behaviour . The confrontation . 12 May . Two hours after the IRA attack , members of the regiment sealed off the town of Coalisland , ten miles east of Cappagh . According to a Social Democratic and Labour Party politician , the soldiers fabricated a bogus bomb warning , while the RUC claimed that the operation began when a joint patrol was stoned by the crowd . Two pubs were ransacked by the troops and a number of civilian cars were damaged . Several people were allegedly hit with sticks . Following this , a lieutenant was suspended from duty and the regiment was removed from patrol duties in Coalisland . 17 May . On the evening of 17 May , a fist - fight began at Lineside Road , where a group of young men were having a drink . A passing four - man patrol of the King ' s Own Scottish Borderers ( KOSB ) regiment was defied to a ' boxing match ' by the residents ; apparently a common practice according to Bernadette McAliskey . The soldiers set aside their weapons and engaged the youths who , after a brief clash , forced the soldiers to take shelter at the local Army / RUC base . The official claim was that the patrol was attacked by a mob of at least 30 people . In the melée , a rifle and a light machine gun were stolen . The rifle was later recovered nearby . The youths also smashed a backpack radio , left behind by the troops . Two KOSB soldiers had to be hospitalised . The Parachute Regiment was called to the scene again , and at 8 : 30 PM , a major riot started outside Rossmore pub between local people and 20 to 25 paratroopers . The soldiers claimed that one of their colleagues was isolated and dragged by the crowd . Some witnesses said that the paratroopers were in a frenzy , showing their guns and inviting the civilians to take them . Suddenly , shots were fired by the troops — first into the air and then towards the people outside the pub . Three civilians were rushed to hospital in Dungannon with gunshot wounds , while the soldiers returned to their barracks . Another four civilians suffered minor injuries . One of the wounded was the brother of IRA volunteer Kevin O ' Donnell , who had been killed by the SAS in February during an ambush at the nearby hamlet of Clonoe , shortly after carrying a machine gun attack on the RUC base . Aftermath . About 500 people attended a protest rally in Coalisland on 19 May , and the wisdom of deploying the troops to patrol the town was questioned by members of the Dáil in Dublin . The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ireland , David Andrews , asked the British Government to withdraw the regiment . As a result , the paratroopers were redeployed outside the urban areas . The RUC claimed that the stolen machine gun was found 11 days later at Cappagh , along with another light machine gun and an AK - 47 rifle . Republicans questioned the stealing of the weapon , suggesting this was merely an excuse for the army rampage at Coalisland . Unionist officials accused Sinn Féin of being the instigators of the riots , while Michael Mates , then Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office , stated that the incidents were due to " a gang of thugs motivated by the IRA " . Eventually the battalion ' s 1992 tour in Northern Ireland was scaled down , with the patrols suspended before the official end of the deployment . The Third Brigade ' s commander , Brigadier Tom Longland was dismissed . Near the end of the tour , the soldiers were involved in the beating of two men in Cappagh and Dungannon , according to a republican source . The last patrol took place on 27 June , when two paratroopers drowned while crossing the Blackwater river . The same day , there were further clashes with local residents , this time in the town of Cookstown . Six soldiers faced criminal charges for the May riots , but were acquitted one year later . Five of them were bound over . Maurice McHugh , the magistrate who presided the court , said that the five soldiers were " not entirely innocent " , while Sinn Féin sources dubbed the ruling " a farce " . Dungannon ' s priest Father Denis Faul was of the opinion that the soldiers should have been charged with conspiracy . The incident stirred memories of the regiment ' s actions on Bloody Sunday , whose 20th anniversary was marked in 1992 .