Amnesty International joins Omagh bomb inquiry call
Omagh bomb families make new call for inquiry
(about 11 hours later)
Amnesty International has joined Omagh bomb families in calling for a public independent inquiry into the Real IRA atrocity and the investigation into it.
Relatives of victims of the Omagh bombing say they are prepared to go to court to try to force the British and Irish governments to hold a full public inquiry into the murders.
Twenty-nine people were killed in the car bomb attack on 15 August 1998.
They have released excerpts of a new report that raises concerns about the failure to share intelligence that they say could have prevented the bombing.
Later, the families will release parts of a report commissioned three years ago into the investigations on both sides of the border.
Their call for a public inquiry has been backed by Amnesty International.
They say they presented it to the British and Irish governments over a year ago and have not had a response.
The Real IRA bomb killed 29 people in 1998. One was pregnant with twins.
Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan was murdered in the attack, said it contained "sensitive" material.
It was the worst atrocity during more than 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.
Amnesty said an inquiry was needed to comprehensively investigate the circumstances surrounding the bomb attack and to ensure lessons are learnt.
The families of those killed still believe the full truth of the events surrounding the bombing has never been revealed.
It has urged the government to establish an independent inquiry without delay, and called on the Irish and United States governments to offer full co-operation with the work of such an inquiry.
Over a year ago they presented a report to the British and Irish governments as part of their campaign for a full public inquiry.
Amnesty said there were unanswered questions about the gathering and sharing of intelligence material both between domestic agencies (for example between the RUC and MI5) and international agencies (the UK authorities, Irish police and the United States' FBI).
Failure
'Broader public interest'
On Thursday, just a few days before the 15th anniversary of the bombing, they revealed some of that document that they say shows there was substantial intelligence warning that dissident republicans were planning an attack.
The group's 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.
However, they believe information was not shared between police forces north and south of the border and intelligence services, including the FBI and MI5.
"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."
They said that the attack could have been prevented and the failure to reveal more about what was known had prevented anyone from being criminally convicted of the killings.
He added: "The families have had to suffer the indignity of being drip-fed information over the years, with new wounds opened each time and with none of the bombers ever being held criminally responsible.
Michael Gallagher, of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group, called on the British and Irish governments to share what they knew at the time.
"It is doubly sad that the bereaved families and those injured have now had to commission their own report as a result of the many partial investigations, each one of which opens up new questions."
The car bomb attack on 15 August 1998 also injured 220 people.
Among the 29 people killed in the atrocity was a woman pregnant with twins. About 220 people were also injured.
No-one has been convicted over the bombing, but four men, convicted Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly, were found liable for it after a civil case taken by the families.
No-one has been convicted over the bombing, but four men - convicted Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell, Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly - were found liable for it after a civil case taken by the families.
