Second attack in Belfast
Hurriyet Daily News with wires
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The killing of a policeman on Monday night dashed hopes that the weekend deaths of two British soldiers was a one-off incident and threatened to plunge Northern Ireland back into the sectarian violence that wracked the province for 30 years.
"As long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue," Continuity IRA said in a coded message claiming to have killed the policeman two days after the pair of soldiers was shot dead.
The policeman, Stephen Paul Carroll, 48, was shot in the head in an area known to be home to nationalist republican supporters in Craigavon, 20 miles southwest of Belfast, police said, according to Agence France-Presse. British PM Gordon Brown vowed that N. Ireland would not see a return of the so-called Troubles, which killed more than 3,500 people before the signing of the landmark 1998 Good Friday agreement.
Political leaders vowed that the violence would not prevent Catholics and Protestants from sharing power. N. Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson said he was "sickened" by the attacks. Irish Premier Brian Cowen called the latest killing a "despicable murder." "We are staring into the abyss and I would appeal to people to pull back," Dolores Kelly, a nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party lawmaker and member of the Northern Ireland policing board, said.
On Saturday night, two soldiers were killed in an attack for which another dissident republican group, the Real IRA, claimed responsibility. The Defense Ministry confirmed that Cengiz "Patrick" Azimkar, who was killed along with Mark Quinsey at the Massereene barracks northwest of Belfast, was of Turkish descent. Azimkar, a 21-year-old Londoner of mixed Irish and North Cypriot parentage, was supposed to depart on Sunday for Afghanistan, the military officials said.
Azimkar hailed as hero
As British media and military top brass hailed the bravery of Azimkar and his fellow soldier, the most senior British officer in N. Ireland described them as magnificent individuals. "I’m delighted at how they responded - but in no way surprised," Brig. George Norton said. Azimkar was known to friends and family by his middle name Patrick, or just Pat. After joining the military at age 17, he trained as a combat engineer and was tapped for promotion. His brother James described him as courageous, loyal and a true friend.
"Patrick was a great character who never said anything bad about anyone. Decisive, generous, proud and dignified, he really enjoyed army life. He talked of settling in Belfast with his girlfriend," his family said in a statement. Azimkar’s parents, Geraldine, 55, and Mehmet, 58, were too upset to comment in Wood Green, North London, but his friend, Greg Kalogirou, 23, said that he always wanted to join the army. Friends described him as hugely popular. "He was a brilliant mate, hard-working soldier. I will miss you, my brother," a close friend, Lance Khan, said.