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IRA murder trial begins with footage of slain soldiers

Shocking scenes of carnage screened at trial

ANTOINETTE KELLY,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 8:06 AM

Updated Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 9:58 AM

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Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey

Photo by BBC

The trial of two Northern Irish men charged with murder and attempted murder opened yesterday with shocking video footage showing the moment two British soldiers were gunned down by two masked attackers.

The footage detailed how 21 year old Patrick Azimkar from London and 23 year old Mark Quinsey from Birmingham were ambushed by two dissident republican Real IRA members outside the Massereene Army barracks in County Antrim on March 7, 2009.

However well-known republican Colin Duffy, 43, from County Armagh and Brian Shivers, 46, from County Derry deny the charges of murder and attempted murder.

The two men's trial at Antrim Crown Court opened with the violent scenes caught on CCTV as the dual murders were replayed to the hushed courtroom.

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According to a report in The Irish Times rosecuting attorney Terence Mooney told the court that the troops had become vulnerable to attack from their habit of collecting pizza at the gate of the military base.

Mooney screened a video that showed five soldiers, all just hours from being deployed to Afghanistan, walking out of the base to meet the pizza delivery cars.

But then two masked men appeared and immediately opened fire on both the soldiers and the fast-food workers. Moments later the attackers turned and took aim at the wounded men who lay on the ground.

Mooney later played an audio clip of a voice message accidentally left on a mobile phone found in the getaway vehicle.

'The message is chilling and self-explanatory,' Mooney reportedly told the judge, Justice Anthony Hart.

The court also heard an audio clip of a male voice concluding: 'There were a few dead all right.' Later a voice added: 'Have to say boys you were as cool as f***.'

The parents of the two murdered men were in court as the hearing opened. The grieving families sat on one side of the accused men and the opposite side sat relatives of the defendants.

The case continues.

Nster.com

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Sparklet | Nov 14, 2011, 02:45 PM EST

I feel sorry for young men who are often not much more than boys. Half of the time, or more, they don't have any idea about why they're there - except for the propaganda they may have been fed by their Government. Not just talking about Ireland here, but anywhere in the world - young men slaughtered in wars generally started by politicians.

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DanOLoingsigh | Nov 12, 2011, 08:41 AM EST

Sirpete – I agree that the GFA was a compromise…compromise is good…neither side can claim to have won a total victory…down the road there must be further compromise…don’t think that the north can be subsumed into the current southern state…how will the northern heritage be recognised? Rejoining the Commonwealth? The real question is how much pain the south will take to ‘gain’ the north…look at the books…the figures are quite daunting…personally I am happy to leave things alone for a long time…but as a democrat I will accept whatever is agreed.

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DanOLoingsigh | Nov 10, 2011, 07:10 PM EST

Sirpete – I agree that the GFA was a compromise…compromise is good…neither side can claim to have won a total victory…down the road there must be further compromise…don’t think that the north can be subsumed into the current southern state…how will the northern heritage be recognised? Rejoining the Commonwealth? Reducing the presence of Irish in the ‘new state’? the real question is how much pain the south will take to ‘gain’ the north…look at the books…the figures are quite daunting…personally I am happy to leave things alone for a long time…but as a democrat I will accept whatever is agreed.

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gobdawpaddy | Nov 10, 2011, 06:03 PM EST

Go to the corner you silly boy. Why not the term 'west brit' or one of the other moronic terms ?

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FallsRNat | Nov 10, 2011, 03:58 PM EST

sirpeter - how do youse know that a UI is the best way to go, have you ever lived in one, the last ireland was united it was under the brits. you choose to believe in the fantasy world of republican politics, i used to sit with my father & uncles as they discussed the laudable? campaigns of the 30-50s, in reality all that happened was to drive an increasing bitter wedge between the catholic/protestant communities esp here in the north, the republicans will never gain their cherished ambition of a UI while the gun remains in irish politics. The NI wing of PIRA came to recognise that there was no armed solution to the UI campaign, in the end they were being 'outkilled' by the loyalists under the guidance of such men as Adair, Skelly, McKeag et al, there are plenty of those types who i'm sure would be willing to take up their own armed struggle again if they thought they were about to be sent packing from their homes, if you really think that supporting an armed campaign will receive a grateful sigh of relief from the nationalist pop here in the north, then you are just as deluded as the RIRA, we lost, ulster remains part of the UK for now, who knows maybe 50 years from now, when the old wounds have died on both sides, we could revisit a UI that is free for all people regardless of race & creed, until that happens there needs to be peace not war.

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sirpeter | Nov 10, 2011, 01:31 PM EST

@Gobshitepaddy.It's a British myopic view that caused all the trouble in NI in the first place.Until you make that observation first and foremost and realise the root of the problem you will always be a gobshite and an idiot.

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sirpeter | Nov 10, 2011, 12:57 PM EST

Dano.What is ultimately the best thing for the whole of Ireland is a UI.The GFA was a compromise.A compromise the people of Ireland were forced to make in order to get power sharing in NI.Dano you might think we have a democracy.To be honest Dano I don't.We have a coercive democracy from what I can see.Frightening the Irish people into voting again for the Lisbon Treaty with all sorts of threats of doom to me is recent proof of that.Maybe the RIRA can see through all the lies.As far as I'm concerned the GFA is just a stepping stone to a UI.All Irish and British politicians had better find a way of easing all the Irish people into a UI at some stage.But my faith in the democratic process is pretty low Dano.Look where all our voting got us too.The Irish government is the most dangerous group of people in this country in the last 10 years.They have proved that.

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gobdawpaddy | Nov 10, 2011, 05:43 AM EST

So predictable. One makes an observation regarding RA/SF that contradicts their myopic view and the RA/SF sympathizer is down your throat, calling you names. I can just picture the contorted face as fingers pound away on the keyboard and saliva spews, 'gobshite', 'idiot' etc. What about free stater or the most feared of all, West Brit.

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DanOLoingsigh | Nov 10, 2011, 04:32 AM EST

Sirpete – How can RIRA be right in their aims? Their aims are to usurp the democratic will, and replace it with their preferred ‘final solution’…attempts to destabilise the fragile peace up there are against the best interests of all the people of the island of Ireland… If these guys get their way, and the Brits detach themselves from NI, how does that work? Yes the whole world is changing, but not in any good way for the foreseeable future.

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sirpeter | Nov 09, 2011, 09:44 PM EST

@Gobshitepaddy.Lets say you are a slave.It's the order of things.Even the slaves believe they should be slaves.It's been that way for a thousand years.If one mutant says I think this is wrong.Is he wrong because the majority says he's wrong? The RIRA are not wrong in their aims.But they are wrong because the are not letting a peaceful resolution take it's course to achieve that aim.Anyway the whole world will change.But you still will be an idiot until you die.

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gobdawpaddy | Nov 09, 2011, 06:21 AM EST

Agree with mcalister. SF/RA have acknowledged the peace process as the way to go, but of course there will always be a few mutants who don't it, who wont abide by the will of the people. FallsRNat observes that if it was truly a war, the RA wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes. They prefered to plant their bombs and run to the nearest bar to watch the mayhem they had caused on the evening news.

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ciarajoyce | Nov 09, 2011, 02:50 AM EST

No charges for shooting (and as I remember, killing) the pizza delivery man? Of course, the other question is "why were these men stationed in Ireland for a short stay before being shipped to the Middle East?" It took a lot of work to get to a cease-fire that most folks support and have followed. I'm unsure why some folks feel the need to try to start the "troubles" over. Do they think they missed out on something fun by being born too late to join the IRA while things were still violent? If that's the problem, they can try Afghanistan or maybe Somolia. I think most Irish are relieved that they can send their children to school and get them back the same afternoon without bullet holes in them. Being in a war or a full-scale riot is NOT fun, and it really terrifies the little ones. If you've never had anyone shoot at you, it's really not a thrill. You check your clothes for burns from the bullets and bloodstains, and if there are none, you continue getting the groceries out of the car. If you'd like to experience it, break into my house. Firearms are legal where I live and I expect every house in the little neighborhood where I live has a number of firearms. This is the Commonwealth of Virginia and you don't get the "stop or I'll shoot" warning you see in silly movies. My door was your warning. For the ladies who've been victims of stalkers, I find a loaded gun takes all the fun out of stalking for most men, and they go away and never return. If the sight of the gun doesn't work, once they're in your homem (that makes them an immediate danger), shoot them. Shoot to kill, shoot to wound, or shoot to make the guy a soprano -- whichever seems most appropriate at the time. You have the right to be safe inside your home, at least in this state.

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macalister | Nov 08, 2011, 11:54 PM EST

Two brain dead,masked idiots. What did that achieve?

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sirpeter | Nov 08, 2011, 10:26 PM EST

Seamus the PIRA are soldiers.They are trained in the tactics of guerrilla warfare.You know the one where Churchill said even if we are overrun by the Germans we will take to the hills and fight the good fight from there.Perfectly legitimate tactics when faced with superior fire power.The thing is Seamus the British army couldn't defeat a few hundred active Irish soldiers for the last 30 years.Could you imagine if the Brits came in guns blazing.haha.London would be burning along with half Englands cities.

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FallsRNat | Nov 08, 2011, 01:14 PM EST

cillowen - it is a fact that however, incovenient for you that PIRA killed more catholics than the BA, RUC & loyalists put together sirpeter - if it was truly a war the irish wouldn't have lasted 5 mins.

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