Night of the Long Knives (1992)

Night of the Long Knives
Part of the Troubles
Date 31 October 1992 Location Belfast, Northern Ireland Result Successful IRA operation Surrender of IPLO Belfast Brigade on 3 November and IPLO GHQ on 7 November.
Belligerents
Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade	Irish People's Liberation Organisation Belfast Brigade Irish People's Liberation Organisation Army Council
Strength
Up to 100 volunteers	Unknown
Casualties and losses
None	1 killed about a dozen others shot and injured several others beaten and forced into exile

The Night of the Long Knives is a name given to the night of 31 October 1992 in Belfast, when the Provisional IRA's Belfast Brigade launched an operation to wipe out the IPLO Belfast Brigade, who most Irish republicans in the city felt were becoming an embarrassment to Irish republicanism due to their involvement in drug dealing, criminality and internal republican feuds.

Background

The Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO) was created as an Irish republican and revolutionary socialist paramilitary organisation in 1986, by expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA). They also formed a small socialist political wing called the Republican Socialist Collective. The IPLO's main goal was to wipe out the INLA and establish itself as the main Irish republican socialist group. The feud lasted a year until a truce was called after several people on either side were killed. Important paramilitaries on both sides were killed, like Thomas "Ta" Power, Gerard Steenson, and Tom McAllister.

Throughout the IPLO's campaign from 1986 to 1992 it killed 22 people: twelve civilians, six INLA members, two members of the British security forces, two loyalist paramilitaries.

The IPLO was accused by other republicans of becoming involved in the illegal drug trade, especially in ecstasy. Some of its Belfast members were also accused of the prolonged gang rape of a woman in Divis Flats in 1990. A feud followed between two factions terming themselves "Army Council" (previously led by Jimmy Brown) and "Belfast Brigade" (led by Sammy Ward).

Operation

The IRA, embarrassed by the actions of the Belfast Brigade of the IPLO, decided to eliminate them. Launching its operation on 31 October 1992, the IRA shot dead Ward in the Short Strand. At the same time there were raids on pubs and clubs across west Belfast, where several IPLO members were kneecapped. Many other IPLO members were dragged from their homes, including in the Divis Flats, where 20 IRA men marched across the balconies and told IPLO men to leave the country.

On 2 November 1992 the second-in-command of the IPLO Belfast Brigade formally surrendered to the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade adjutant, which brought an end to the group in Belfast.

Outside Belfast, the IRA did not attack any IPLO units and issued statements absolving those in Derry, Newry and Armagh from any involvement in the drugs trade. In Dublin, the IRA reprieved the IPLO Chief of Staff in return for his surrendering a small cache of arms held in Ballybough. The operation is reputed to have involved 100 IRA members.

Both factions of the IPLO formally surrendered to the IRA's Belfast Brigade leader within a few days of the operation.

Aftermath

The IRA presented the attacks as an operation to wipe out drug dealers from Belfast rather than another of the inter-republican feuds which had taken place in previous years.

Some IPLO Volunteers rejoined the INLA. One was Crip McWilliams, who shot dead Loyalist Volunteer Force leader Billy Wright inside the Maze Prison in December 1997.