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Which groups were responsible for most deaths during the Troubles?

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Everyday life during the Troubles — the Troubles Local people walking past a British soldier on guard in Northern Ireland, August 1969.

During the period known as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, more than 3,600 people were killed. Responsibility for these deaths is attributed to various factions involved in the conflict:1

Republican paramilitaries: Responsible for more than 2,000 deaths.1
Loyalist paramilitaries: Responsible for approximately 1,000 deaths.1
Security forces: Responsible for more than 350 deaths.1

The violence, which spanned the last three decades of the 20th century, involved a complex dynamic of sectarian conflict, bombings, and shootings. While the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its splinter groups, such as the Real Irish Republican Army, were major actors in the violence, loyalist paramilitary brigades and state security forces were also significant contributors to the total death toll. It is a fundamental ethical principle that the loss of life in this conflict was a profound tragedy, and the violence perpetrated by all sides caused immense suffering to the people of Northern Ireland.213