VIDEO: Kingsmills massacre remembered
FAMILY and friends gathered on Monday to mark the anniversary of one of the worst single sectarian attacks in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Standing on a south Armagh roadside on a cold winter morning, relatives stood in dignified silence to remember loved ones brutally murdered in the Kingsmills massacre 33 years ago.
On 5 January 1976, 10 Protestant workmen were shot dead by republicans as they returned home in a mini-bus from their work at nearby Bessbrook.
Only one man, Alan Black, survived the attack despite being shot 18 times.
A Catholic work colleague, also caught up in the ambush by a reported dozen gunmen, was ordered away before the shooting.
No-one has ever been charged in relation to the mass murder.
Speaking at the temporary memorial outside the village of Whitecross, victims' campaigner Willie Frazer revealed his hopes that a permanent memorial would be in place by next year's annual commemmoration service.
"The reason we want a permanent memorial is that republicans want to wipe history out, especially in south Armagh, about what they did in this part of Ulster," he said.
"The memorial will not only be for the Kingsmills people but also the south Armagh people who have suffered at the hands of the IRA."
The short service at Kingsmills was conducted by Pastor Barrie Halliday and included a two minutes silence.
Wreaths were also laid in memory of the ten victims.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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