The Troubles

The Troubles (Irish: Na Trioblóidí) was a guerrilla/nationalist^{[12][13][14][15]} conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century.

The Troubles
Political map of Ireland
Date Late 1960s–1998[1][2][3][4] Location Northern Ireland Violence occasionally spread to the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe Result Military stalemate[5] Good Friday Agreement (1998) St Andrews Agreement (2006) Withdrawal of British forces taking part in Operation Banner[6] Disarmament of paramilitary groups Continuing low-level armed conflict
Belligerents
State security forces British Armed Forces Royal Ulster Constabulary Irish Defence Forces Gardaí	Irish republican paramilitaries Provisional IRA Official IRA (1969–1972) Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) (1974–1998) Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO) (1986–1992) Continuity IRA (1994–) Real IRA (1997–)	Ulster loyalist paramilitaries Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) Ulster Defence Association (UDA) Red Hand Commando (RHC) (1972–1994) Ulster Resistance (UR) (1986–1989) Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) (1996–1999)
Casualties and losses
British Army: 705 ∟(inc. UDR) RUC: 301 NIPS: 24 TA: 7 Other UK police: 6 Royal Air Force: 4 Royal Navy: 2 Total: 1,049[7] Irish Army: 1 Gardaí: 9 IPS: 1 Total: 11[7]	PIRA: 292 INLA: 38 OIRA: 27 IPLO: 9 RIRA: 2 Total: 368[7]	UDA: 91 UVF: 62 RHC: 4 LVF: 3 UR: 2[8] Total: 162[7]
Civilians killed: 1,840[9] (or 1,935 inc. ex-combatants)[7] Total dead: 3,532[9] Total injured: 47,500+[10] All casualties: around 50,000[11]

It is also known as the Northern Ireland conflict,^{[16][17][18][19][20]} it is sometimes described as an "irregular war"^[21][22][23] or "low-level war".^[24][25][26]

The conflict began in the late 1960s and many said it ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.^{[2][3][27][28][29]} Although the Troubles primarily took place in Northern Ireland, at times the violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe.

A key issue was the state of Northern Ireland. Unionists/loyalists (most of whom were Protestants) wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists/republicans (most of whom were Catholics) wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a United Ireland.^[30]

More than 3,500 people were killed in the conflict. Of those: 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces, and 16% were members of paramilitary groups.^[31]