‘ Bloody Sunday’ soldier arrested

First arrest in probe of 1972 killings of civil rights protesters

A former soldier suspected of being connected with the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Northern Ireland that left 14 unarmed civil rights protesters dead was arrested Tuesday, police said.

In a brief statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said the unidentified man, 66, was arrested in County Antrim and was being interviewed by police in Belfast.

Ian Harrison, chief detective of the police service, said the “arrest marked a new phase in the overall investigation which would continue for some time.”

The incident on Jan. 30, 1972, in Londonderry is regarded as one of the worst, and most controversial, atrocities in more than three decades of unrest in Northern Ireland.

A report commissioned by the British government concluded that British Army soldiers fired on civilian demonstrators without warning and that some of those killed were trying to flee the scene or help others.

The marchers were predominantly from Northern Ireland’s Catholic community. They were protesting the imprisonment of alleged Irish nationalists by the British government.

Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged that Britain was to blame for the killings, following the publication of the report in 2010. At the time, Cameron described the incident as “unjustified and unjustifiable.”

Tuesday’s arrest was the first since the murder investigation began three years ago.

The British government said Tuesday in a statement that “the overwhelming majority ( of soldiers) carried out their duties ( in Northern Ireland) with courage, professionalism and integrity.”

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE A British soldier accosts a protester in the Jan. 30, 1972, incident, later known as “Bloody Sunday.”