UTV News - Soldiers witnessed teen murder

Subscribe to the News Feed Newsback to News

Soldiers witnessed teen murder

Text Size:  A  A |  POST A COMMENT |  PRINT |  SHARE 
A mother has spoken of her shock after an HET report revealed that an Army undercover unit watched as her teenage son was shot dead in west Belfast, 17 years ago.
Video available to UK viewers only.
We’re sorry. This video is unavailable from your location.

Damien Walsh, 17, was killed by a UFF gunman in March 1993.

The Catholic teenager was gunned down at the Dairy Farm centre in Poleglass where he worked.

The undercover soldiers were monitoring one of the units at the shopping centre, which was being used by the IRA to store fertiliser.

A Historical Enquiries Team report into the shooting was handed over to the family earlier this week.

It reveals that the undercover unit watched what happened, but says the killers still managed to get away.

Damien's mother, Marian Walsh, says the report has raised more questions than answers.

"They confirmed the soldiers were there and didn't do anything and I want to know... I want a better reason than distance as to why they didn't do anything," she told UTV.

"Apparently they watched the gunmen arrive, go into the premises and leave," she added.

"They watched what direction they went in when they left the complex."

"Then, they contacted the RUC and gave details of the getaway car - but they gave the wrong details, which is disgraceful.

"How could what is supposed to be a professional surveillance unit give the wrong details of a getaway car?" she asked.

According to the HET report, one of the two guns used in the attack was later used in another murder, four attempted murders and a further four shooting incidents between 1990 and 1996.

"If the Army had intervened properly or if they had passed on the right information these killers may have been apprehended", Ms Walsh told UTV.

"That would have stopped another murder taking place and all these other injuries happening, but they didn't do that."

The HET has ruled out the possibility of collusion between the Army and the RUC in the case.

Instead, the HET says the RUC were in charge of the murder investigation, but army officers failed to pass on information about what happened.

Sinn Féin west Belfast MLA Jennifer McCann says the HET findings come as no surprise.

"They (the British Army) sat by and allowed the UFF to murder Damien at his place of work in the Dairy Farm; the British Army as well as the British government have serious questions to answer as to why they allowed this murder to take place and they did not intervene in apprehending those responsible," she said.

"The report by the HET has raised a number of serious questions which I have no doubt the Walsh family will wish to pursue in the time ahead; we support them in this endeavour".

© UTV News

Send to a friend

Email To
Your Name
Comment
Close
At 08:49 on 08 September 2010, Ulysses32 wrote:
Ha, ha, ha. Funny guy. You should try getting a regular set in the Empire Comedy night.
At 10:24 on 07 September 2010, BIG ERNEST wrote:
ULYSSES; is that you saying that i caught you out lying then ? yeah , whatever !! now run along and stop telling lies to further your bigotry .
At 09:57 on 07 September 2010, Ulysses32 wrote:
Oh, whatever, Big Ernest. Love you too.
At 19:02 on 06 September 2010, BIG ERNEST wrote:
ulysses ; 3rd september 2010 @15;43 you wrote " an innocent 17 year old boy murdered by loyalist death squads and witnessed by soldiers under the control of ....oh look , the ruc " , now are you denying you said this ? or are you that embarrassed that only you in your sectarian mischief making saw this article worded like that as the victims mother has never said anything ever like this , she accepts the ruc where given false details and she blames the army !! yet in your sad we world you seem to think different , i state your a bigot and i have proved this too !!
At 16:44 on 06 September 2010, Ulysses32 wrote:
No backtracking. The link to the Belfast Telegraph article was there. The moderators on this site chose not to publish the link. If you highlight and search the direct quote in my comment you will find the BT article in question. You do know how to trawl and search, don't you? Shame your revelation on exposing anything holds as much water as the Weekly World News. Only goes to highlight your limitations.
At 15:55 on 06 September 2010, big ernest wrote:
ulysses ; is that you backtracking now ? firstly you accuse me of not keeping up with the story then you pull sources from either the bbc or the belfast telegraph yet you indicated that it was a direct quote from the victims mother , now which is it or are you just talking nonsense like you always do to hide the fact that you have been caught out lying to indulge in your favourite pastime of sectarian mischief making ? now you stated that the soldiers where under the control of the ruc , this women has never said that , only you !! anyway i wont rise to your silly accusations about me , exposing you as a liar will do for me .
At 12:47 on 06 September 2010, Ulysses32 wrote:
I initially heard Marian make the statement on the news on the BBC website so there may be a video in existence there but search for a link to an article in the Belfast Telegraph. You can do your own research in future when you venture out into the big wide world of the internet.
Post a comment
Name:
Email Address:
Location:
Your Comment:
Verification Code: Captcha Code  Get New Code
POST COMMENT
[Before posting, please take a moment to familiarise yourself with our house rules. All comments are moderated and will not appear immediately. Any information you enter, including email and web addresses, will be displayed on our site if passed by our moderators.]