08/08/2013

Amnesty Backs Omagh Bomb Review

Amnesty International is backing a call for a review of the investigation into the Omagh bomb.

The announcement comes as the families of those affected reveal that new evidence has emerged into how the authorities might have prevented the attack.

29 people were killed and more than 200 hundred were injured during the 1998 Real IRA attack on the Co Tyrone market town.

Among the dead was a woman who had been pregnant with twins.

No-one was ever convicted, but four men, Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were found liable following a civil case taken by the families.

New details are expected to be revealed today that will shine new light on the attack and the subsequent investigation.

Amnesty's Northern Ireland programme director Patrick Corrigan said: "Fifteen years since the bomb ripped through Omagh, taking lives and causing injury, the families bereaved and those injured by the bomb are still left seeking the full truth about what happened that day and whether it could have been prevented.

"Beyond addressing the families' need for answers, there remains a broader public interest in establishing such an inquiry, in order to prevent such a tragedy recurring."

(IT/JP)

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